Finding the formula for cheap subscription tickets

As more European countries introduce keenly priced subscription tickets to encourage greater use of public transport, BEN JONES discovers that encouraging modal shift is about much more than just cheap fares

If you want more people to travel by train - and by bus, tram and metro - just make the fares too cheap to resist. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Over the past three years, hundreds of enthusiastic articles have been written about Germany’s Deutschlandticket monthly pass, Austria’s annual Klimaticket, and similar schemes in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and (most recently) Portugal. Deutschlandticket offers the freedom of most urban and regional transport from the Baltic to the Alps for just €58 (£48) a month, while the Klimaticket is even better value, including everything from local buses and trams to 140mph Railjet long-distance trains anywhere in the country for around €3 (£2.50) per day. For €20 (£16.60) a month, Portuguese residents can now ride as many regional, local and InterCity trains as they…

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RAIL (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 1027

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