You can get unlimited summer travel for US$9.50 a month in this European country
You can get unlimited summer travel for US$9.50 a month in this European country
You can get unlimited summer travel for US$9.50 in Germany. The passes will allow a whole month of travel. (Wolfgang Kumm/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images/CNN)
A whole month of unlimited transport for just US$9.50 -- that's a great deal at any time, but in a time of fuel price hikes, rocketing car rental rates and a worldwide cost of living crisis, it becomes unbeatable.
So pack your bags, because the most affordable travel destination this summer, if we're going by transport, appears to be Germany.
The German government has today approved the creation of a €9 (US$9.50) monthly public transport ticket. It will be launched in June -- just in time for a summer trip.
The card can be used across the entire country, on local and regional transport -- trains, buses and trams, according to local media.
However, local means local -- so it can't be used for long-distance bus or train services. In other words, the popular IC, EC and ICE trains are exempt -- although you can combine a long-distance trip with regional transport covered by the pass. Trains marked RE are regional, and therefore part of the package.
The deal will run for the months of June, July and August, as part of a government energy relief package by incentivizing people to use public transport to get around this summer. €2.5 billion (US$2.6 billion) has been pumped into the project by the government. Each pass will be valid per calendar month -- so if you buy yours on the 14th, you'll still only be able to use it on the end of the month.
But though it's been designed for locals, tourists can buy the pass too.
Germany's national railway, Deutsche Bahn, has already added the passes to its website. They will go on sale on May 23.
The only catch? You can't make a seat reservation with this pass. But at this price, you'd probably happily ride on the roof.
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