The 49-euro ticket was discussed for a long time. After the groundbreaking success of the 9-euro ticket last summer, it was actually clear: Germany is ready to leave the car behind and switch to bus and train. For people with low incomes, it was even the chance to go on vacation for the first time in a long time because the travel costs were not astronomically high. Perhaps it was they, too, who benefited the most from affordable local transport. But it is precisely for this group that the successor model, which is to be launched from May, could now become a problem.
As the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reports, people who are in debt could be excluded from the Germany ticket. The reason: Depending on the payment method and provider through which the purchase is to be processed, there may be a check by the Schufa. Both Deutsche Bahn and the payment service provider "Logpay", which is used by more than 250 public transport shops, should carry out a credit check when purchasing the Germany ticket.
The problem with this is the general concept of the ticket: Unlike the 9-euro ticket last summer, which could also be bought at any ticket machine and with cash as a "one-off payment", the Deutschlandticket is structured like a monthly subscription. In addition, you can buy it almost exclusively online. This may be convenient for many, but it also means that the sum of 49 euros is debited from the account each month. This usually runs via a Sepa direct debit mandate. The company makes an advance payment to a certain extent and therefore checks whether the customer can also pay the outstanding amount. Hence the credit check.
This may be understandable for the companies, but conversely it also means that indebted people, who need it most, would have to do without the Germany ticket. According to "SZ", some companies have already recognized this problem and are working on making it possible to pay for Germany tickets by credit card, for example. But here, too, the cat bites its own tail. Because if you have a low credit rating and therefore a low Schufa score, you will also have problems getting a credit card.
After all, there is a ray of hope in the Schufa confusion: For example, the operator of the website "Deutschlandticket.de", "Transdev", has found a way to dispense with the Schufa check: In this way, the money is simply removed from the customer's account debited before the respective digital ticket is activated.
Sources: Deutschlandticket.de, "Süddeutsche Zeitung"
