Ticket controls on Berlin U-Bahns fall by nearly 50 percent

Ticket controls on Berlin’s U-Bahns fell by nearly 50 percent in 2024, while controls on S-Bahn trains increased slightly. The BVG says there is a simple reason behind the figures.

Fewer ticket controls on Berlin U-Bahns

Passengers on U-Bahns in Berlin had their tickets controlled 3,4 million times in 2024, according to the city’s administration of justice, which provided the figures in response to a request from the Greens. The figures are significantly down from 2019, when passengers were controlled nearly 8 million times while riding the U-Bahn.

It’s a similar story on the capital’s trams, which are also run by local transport association, the BVG. Controllers checked passenger tickets on trams 2,3 million times in 2019, but just over 1 million times in 2024.

Ticket controls on S-Bahns, run by Deutsche Bahn, bucked the trend. Controllers checked S-Bahn passengers’ tickets 9,3 million times in 2019, and 11,1 million times in 2024.

BVG: More subscriptions mean fewer controls are necessary

The BVG says the reason behind the figures is simple: when the transport association knows that more people have a travel subscription, they reduce controls intended to catch out passengers riding without a ticket.

According to the BVG, 1,4 million of Berlin's 3,8 million inhabitants had a travel subscription in 2024, either a Deutschlandticket, a “Berlin ticket” or a “Sozialticket” for benefits claimants. “We have increasingly adapted our ticket inspections to these new framework conditions,” a BVG spokesperson told local public broadcaster rbb.

While still significantly more expensive than the 9-euro ticket, the Deutschlandticket's launch in May 2023 made transportation more affordable for people in Berlin. The subscription costs 58 euros per month and is valid on all U-Bahns, trams, buses and regional trains across the country.

Despite the dip in controls, the transport association said that it has only brought in slightly less cash by fining passengers caught travelling without a ticket. In 2019, the BVG fined riders without a ticket to the tune of 7,95 million euros, compared to 6,4 million euros in 2024.