Anticipated Increase in VBB Fares by New Leadership in 2026
In 2023, passengers in the Berlin-Brandenburg region will not experience any standalone fare increases for their bus and train journeys. Instead, the introduction of the nationwide Deutschlandticket (D-Ticket) has taken centre stage, offering a monthly public transport pass for €49, valid on all local and regional services across Germany.
The D-Ticket, which replaced the 9-Euro-Ticket from the summer of 2022, aims to provide more stable pricing and promote the use of public transport. The €49 price was intended to remain unchanged for at least the first two years, meaning that no direct increases were planned for the Berlin-Brandenburg region's fares within that period.
However, the D-Ticket is subject to annual inflation adjustments after the initial two-year period, with the price rising to €58/month from January 2025. Additionally, the acceptance of local tickets, including the D-Ticket, on some Intercity (IC) services in Berlin-Brandenburg is scheduled to end in December 2025, but this will not affect fare prices directly in 2023.
The Berlin-Brandenburg transport association (VBB) has announced slight reductions in regional transport services at the December timetable change. For instance, the RB27 line between Basdorf and Wensickendorf will only run during peak travel times on weekdays, while the RB36 line between Beeskow and Frankfurt (Oder) will only run every two hours after 8:00 PM.
VBB, which comprises the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, 14 counties, four independent cities in Brandenburg, 36 transport companies, including the S-Bahn Berlin and the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), has been grappling with high cost increases in recent years. Cost structures such as personnel, materials, and energy have seen increases exceeding inflation.
The adequacy of public transport funding depends largely on the funds that the federal government makes available. The federal government has announced that public transport should be adequately funded. The exact amount of the fare increase, if any, remains uncertain. Decisions regarding the fare increase are expected to be made in the fall.
The new head of the VBB is Christoph Heuing, who has been in the role since early May 2022. His predecessor, Ute Bonde (CDU), moved to the Berlin state government as transport senator in 2024. The fare increase, if implemented, will be determined through an index procedure at VBB that considers consumer price increases over the past five years.
The commissioning of the Dresden line will offer a fast, direct route from Berlin Hauptbahnhof to Berlin Brandenburg Airport, reducing the journey time between the main station and the BER to almost half, from 39 to 23 minutes. This development, along with the D-Ticket, is set to revolutionise public transport in the Berlin-Brandenburg region.
The D-Ticket's initial price, intended to remain at €49 for two years, does not foresee any direct fare increases in the Berlin-Brandenburg region's bus and train services within that period. However, after the initial two-year period, the price may rise due to annual inflation adjustments, potentially affecting business costs in the transportation industry and finance sector.
