Find yourself in a never-ending maze of bright yellow bureaucracy? Here’s your go-to guide for buying and cancelling a subscription for Berlin’s 29-euro public transport ticket.
Berlin’s 29-euro ticket has now gone on sale and will be valid on S-Bahns, U-Bahns, buses and trams within the A and B transport zones from July 1, 2024.
Tickets are available online and at BVG service centres across the city - but not at ticket machines - and come as a chip card or smartphone ticket on your mobile.
If you have a 49-euro Deutschlandticket or another transport ticket valid in Berlin, but find that a 29-euro ticket would suit you better, you can swap to a 29-euro subscription. However, whether it’s the first transport ticket you’ve ever bought or you’re swapping from a Deutschlandticket, it is best not to dilly-dally your admin.
The 29-euro ticket must be ordered by the tenth day of the current month to be valid from the first of the next month. For example, if you want a ticket for June, you have to order it by May 10.
Each 29-euro ticket will be specific to one passenger, so it will not be possible to share one 29-euro ticket between multiple people. Ticket holders will be allowed to take one child under six and a dog at no extra charge.
The Berlin Senate has already confirmed that the ticket will run until at least 2026. Buying a subscription does not commit you to pay until then, but here’s what you should know about cancelling a subscription before clicking “confirm”.
Currently, the 29-euro ticket is only available as an annual subscription, meaning that passengers must commit to a 12-month contract for the first year. Payments of 29 euros will still be charged monthly to ticket holders’ bank accounts. After the first year, the ticket will renew automatically each month, and you can cancel it each month.
These first 12 months might sound like a big commitment, but there is a small saving grace. While you can't cancel the Berlin Abo within the first 12 months of the contract, you can still switch to another kind of ticket, for example back to the Deutschlandticket.
Once the first 12 months are up, if you do decide to cancel your 29-euro ticket you must end the subscription before the 22nd day of the current month to avoid delays and extra fees. For example, if you would like to cancel your subscription from July 2025 onwards, you must remember to cancel by June 22, 2025.
Thumb image credit: Matej Kastelic / Shutterstock.com