We, the General Students' Committee of the so-called Freie Universität, decided in the course of negotiations for a new semester ticket contract in December 2022 for the current summer semester 2023 to sign the contract offered by the VBB for the summer semester 2023 as well as the coming winter semester 2023/2024.
At that time, we assessed the future of the semester ticket as politically uncertain. During the Berlin state election campaign, alternative ticket options to the existing Semesterticket were announced by various parties. (e.g. a 29-euro ticket, a nationwide semester ticket or a 9-euro social ticket) In our view, these were empty campaign promises, solutions that could not be realised in time or no real improvements to the existing semester ticket.
We were right in our assessment. The 29-euro ticket was discontinued with the introduction of the 49-euro ticket on 01.05.2023, a nationwide semester ticket is not in sight and the Berlin 9-euro social ticket for students is not accessible. The then red-red-green Berlin Senate had promised the subsidy, which serves to keep the semester ticket price for students constant at a price of €193.80 despite price increases by the VBB, also for the summer semester 2023 and the winter semester 2023/2024. This means that FU students will continue to have access to a semester ticket at the same price in the tariff zones A, B and C, including bicycle transport, in the winter semester. If, contrary to expectations, the political leaders of the new senate do manage to offer a cheaper alternative to the current semester ticket for Berlin students in the winter semester 2023/2024, the contract with the VBB provides for a right of termination so that the students at the FU can decide in a ballot on the alternatives that may be available.
In the course of the nationwide introduction of the 49-Euro Ticket, Berlin is currently working on an upgrade solution for the Semesterticket, so that students can upgrade their Semesterticket to a nationwide ticket for the difference of €13.95 per month. We students were not included in the process of developing this solution, neither by the old nor by the new state government. The fact that this solution is also late and that the start on 1 June cannot be guaranteed shows us once again that students are neither considered nor included in the political processes in Berlin and at the federal level. Furthermore, with the currently planned app, the Senate Administration is pushing through a solution that is opposed by various data protection concerns.
Particularly in light of this political context of the past months, we believe that the existing semester ticket model is currently and in the coming winter semester the best and most solidarity-based solution for Berlin students to use public transport in Berlin, regardless of political promises. For as long as local public transport is not fundamentally offered free of charge, the solidarity model of the current semester ticket enables all Berlin students to enjoy basic climate-friendly mobility, regardless of their income.
Please direct press enquiries on the subject of the semester ticket to: semtix@astafu.de.