According to Berliner Zeitung, ticket machines in Berlin are being used less and less, and the transport company BVG is moving towards cashless ticketing. Passengers increasingly buy tickets through apps on their phones, and the article reports that more than half of all single and day tickets are now bought this way.
BVG plans new validators
According to the article, BVG intends to start installing around 3,600 validators in U-Bahn stations, trams and buses from 2029. These devices are meant to offer a limited range of tickets, and the tickets are stored in a cloud. Payment will be possible by debit or credit card, but not with coins or banknotes. Cash customers would only be able to use reloadable value cards.
The plan has drawn criticism. The passenger association IGEB argues that a digital-only system could exclude people, and readers of the newspaper, often older customers, fear being left behind. BVG says cash sales play an ever smaller role given the spread of mobile phones and the Deutschlandticket.
Fairtiq tests check-in and check-out in Berlin
The Swiss company Fairtiq is testing its Fairtiq Lab app in Berlin. Passengers check in with a swipe before the trip and check out with another swipe after it. During a test ride recorded by the newspaper, the app worked on S-Bahn line S5 and on U-Bahn line U5 towards Alexanderplatz, although the reporter's app showed a different start point for the U-Bahn leg. According to the article, the test version does not calculate fares or collect payment.
The app also offers a Smart Stop function. If the system detects that the user has left the vehicle and does not respond to a message, the trip ends automatically after ten to 30 minutes, according to Fairtiq's description.
Debate on fares
The article also looks at distance-based fare systems used in other German regions. According to the figures cited, the eezy.NRW app in North Rhine-Westphalia has recorded about 27 million trips since 2021, and the fare is capped at the monthly price of the Deutschlandticket, currently 63 euros. A passenger from Berlin, Christian Linow, tested the app in Düsseldorf and reported paying more than a regular day ticket would have cost, which he called unfriendly to consumers.
Berlin-Brandenburg transport authorities have not yet given a detailed public response. According to the article, the VBB had not commented even after several days, while BVG says it has coordinated its plans with the VBB. Brandenburg's infrastructure minister Robert Crumbach has spoken in favour of check-in/check-out for the state, both as an app and as a chip card.