Earlier this month, Germany decided to do a country-wide experiment. Due to the rising energy prices, Germany decided to provide the country with the 9-EUR-Ticket. This ticket costs just 9 EUR, and is valid for all short-distance public transportation within the country. The ticket is valid for an entire month, and is available for June, July, and August. So for a total price of 27 EUR, one can travel quite a lot during this summer within Germany. And sure enough, this is causing some chaotic issues.
People are worried about packed trains. Sure, you can't use the 9-EUR-Ticket with long-distance transport, like the ICE trains, but these tickets are valid for plenty of shorter-distance trains that are heading to vacation destinations, like the regional trains that go to the Baltic Sea. And yes, since their roll out, I see news articles every now and then about trains that have been delayed because they were overpacked, trains that had to be cancelled because of too many passengers, trains where the police even had to be involved because there were just people who were uncooperative. Oh well.
I suppose everyone and their grandmother just want to get out nowadays. I can understand why. After all, we've all been cooped up due to Covid restrictions, and for the most of us, we haven't had a decent vacation in years. So this 9-EUR-Ticket actually gives one an opportunity to do something vaguely looking like a vacation for cheap. But the problem is that everyone wants to do the same thing.
For me, I am just being patient. Nothing gets solved if all one does is complain. I am aware of the extra issues involved in travelling this summer, so I am being strategic and doing things that are less likely to be done by the rest of the crowd. I also have a 9-EUR-Ticket, of course, but for the most part I am using it as my monthly ticket to get around town.
I feel like we all need a break of some sort. And just adding extra stress to that by being an annoying passenger won't be productive.
