No more cash tickets
Ticket machines at the train station are on the verge of being closed
The good old vending machine will soon be on the siding. Deutsche Bahn relies on cashless ticket models. From 2035, tickets should normally only be bought digitally.
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Buying tickets with cash should soon be a thing of the past.
Two minutes until departure! Shoo, shoo onto the platform, dig a coin out of the sack. And buy a ticket at the machine. The colleague holds the door open for you. And: Oof! Made. The train is leaving. Still an everyday scenario between Geneva and Romanshorn TG. It will soon be a thing of the past. Because cash will soon be obsolete in public transport.
Ticket sales at the machines is a phased-out model. “This option will not be completely abolished for the time being. It is conceivable that there are still machines at major hubs or in external shops, »says René Schmied in an interview with the «Aargauer Zeitung». He is President of the Alliance Swiss Pass Strategy Council and Director of Bernmobil, the public transport company in Bern.
From 2035 no more vending machines
It is clear, however, that Deutsche Bahn wants to reduce costs. The analogue sale of tickets at machines and their infrastructure costs money. Therefore: “From 2035, tickets should normally only be bought digitally,” says Schmied. Solutions are needed for travelers who cannot or do not want to buy their tickets online. But: In the case of individual tickets, the digital share has increased from one to two thirds – within just four years.
According to Schmied, you have to ask yourself what infrastructure is still reasonable. “Today we have 360 terminals on the Bernmobil network alone. I hope that in a few years we will have significantly less and in 2035 maybe none at all, »says Schmied to the «Aargauer Zeitung». From 2035 onwards, very few would use cash anyway. “We no longer have to set up a safe at every stop. These are machines with cash payment options de facto.” (pbe)