Germany semester ticket: New developments for students at BTU

UPDATE : All current Informationen are available at  https://www.stura-btu.de/en/topics/semesterticket

Please contact semesterticket@stura-cottbus.de regarding all request to the semesterticket.

Agreement on a nationwide semester ticket based on a solidarity model:

On November 27, the federal and state governments reached a groundbreaking agreement on the introduction of the Germany semester ticket (Deutschlandsemesterticket). However, the actual implementation varies from state to state.

Relevant information for students at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg

On December 5, the BTU student parliament agreed to introduce the Germany semester ticket at our university. This makes us one of the few universities that can welcome the Germany semester ticket as early as the summer semester 2024, subject to an acceptable contract with the VBB.

With this ticket, you will be able to travel nationwide on various means of transport, just like with the Germany ticket (Deutschlandticket). For you, this initially means that if you are enrolled at BTU for on-campus studies, an additional €176.40 (i.e. €29.40 over 6 months) will be charged for the Germany semester ticket in the solidarity model when you re-register for the summer semester 2024. From April you will then be able to use the nationwide semester ticket.

You should be automatically entitled to this without having to take out a subscription. The ticket is valid for all students at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, although there will be some reasons for exemption (e.g. students with disabilities or on a semester abroad). The exact reasons for exemption have not yet been finalized, but simply not using the ticket will not be accepted as a reason for exemption.

We expect to know more about these issues in January.

It is still unclear what the exact terms of the contract for the Germany semester ticket will look like, but we have received a draft contract from the VBB. The Germany semester ticket is expected to be made available as a digital solution. The fact is that the price of the semester ticket is linked to the price of the Germany ticket. It is 60% of the price of the Germany ticket. However, the price of €29.40 per month in the summer semester is guaranteed, regardless of the price of the Germany ticket.

However, a price increase for the winter semester 2024/25 and beyond is entirely possible. In this case, there could be another discussion about the future of the Germany semester ticket. However, such price increases must be announced well in advance (about 4 months in advance), otherwise the lower price will apply for the entire semester. Furthermore, price increases come with an extraordinary right of termination of the semester ticket contract.

Nevertheless, we are pleased to have found a consensus for the summer semester. We will contact you again as soon as there is clarity about the process.

Decision-making process for the introduction of the Germany semester ticket

In December 2022, it was decided to discontinue the VBB semester ticket due to the introduction of the Deutschlandticket and the resulting legal implications. At this point, student bodies and state student representatives had already drawn up a demand for a nationwide semester ticket for socially acceptable and cost-effective public transport for students.

The decision to discontinue the VBB semester ticket led to an investigation into the changed mobility conditions of our students, which ultimately led to a mobility survey in July. The results were discussed intensively in the student council, the student parliament and with the university management, and it became clear that there was a need for action.

After no results were achieved on the Germany Ticket and the nationwide semester ticket at the conference of federal and state transport ministers, a renewed letter of demand was sent to the Conference of Minister Presidents via the Brandenburg State Student Representation (BRANDSTUVE) and almost all other state student representations. This ultimately led to the Coordination Council formed by the federal and state governments advocating the introduction of the ticket, now known as the "Germany semester ticket (Deutschlandsemesterticket)", for the summer semester 2024.

However, implementation is proving challenging, as formal deadlines must be met (such as the fee regulations for student admission) and the contract must first be drawn up at federal level and then at state level.

The BTU student representatives had already expressed their support for a nationwide semester ticket in advance, as this would remove the legal concerns associated with the VBB semester ticket contract and the introduction of the Deutschlandticket.

Thanks to very good cooperation with the university management and university administration, it was finally possible to pass the introduction of the Germany semester ticket and the associated fee regulations in the student parliament on time. This was on the condition that an acceptable contract was concluded with the VBB. If this contract is not concluded or is not acceptable to us as student representatives, the current fee regulations allow us to refund the money collected.

Timetable for the introduction of the Germany semester ticket

Timetable to date

Future/Planned Schedule