Families Facing Steep Increase in Train Seat Reservations: The End of Family-Friendly Rail Travel?
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Families to face significant increase in train booking costs - Family reservations on rail travel to incur substantially higher prices
Getting seats reserved for family trips on German trains, operated by Deutsche Bahn, is about to get a lot more expensive. The state-owned company has announced that the family reservation will be eliminated starting this Sunday, causing outrage and confusion from associations and political parties.
Now, everyone - including children - will be required to pay for a seat reservation. Moreover, the cost for a second-class reservation will jump by 30 cents to 5.50 euros, whereas a first-class reservation will climb up to 6.90 euros, previously 6.50 euros.
This new adjustment means that a family of four, with two children, will have to shell out 22 euros for a one-way reservation, totaling 44 euros for a round trip.
The ecological transport club, VCD, is urging Deutsche Bahn to maintain family reservations. "Families with children depend on reserved seats," said the organization's federal chairwoman, Kerstin Haarmann. "They are now confronted with a de facto price hike, just half a year after the last regular increase in December." Haarmann advises the railway to "focus less on short-term discount actions and instead keep the general offer affordable."
Jörg Bruhertseifer from the passenger association Pro Bahn added, "Politics and the railway’s representatives should work towards making train journeys with families more cost-effective. Especially for families traveling together, the total cost in comparison to a car is a crucial factor in the decision."
Greenpeace voices its dismay as well. "The German Rail resembles a scheme to push families into their cars," said traffic expert Lena Donat. "If a four-member family has to pay 44 euros for a seat reservation, that's more than many cars consume in fuel over a 400-kilometer journey." The desire for a comfortable and eco-friendly journey should not be a luxury.
The German Social Association emphasizes that added expenses burden low-income households and make the choice for environmentally friendly train travel more difficult.
Green member of the German parliament, Victoria Broßart, slammed the railway's move as a scandal: "The railway seems determined to drive families off its trains. With this pricing policy, families will favor using their cars for visits to grandma or trips to vacation destinations in the future."
CDU member of parliament, Christoph Ploß, told the "Rheinische Post" that the railway should reconsider its strategy.
Deutsche Bahn argues that children up to the age of 14 can travel for free with an adult. The elimination of the special reservation option won't significantly impact families as it was primarily used by travel constellations consisting of one adult with one child—although, the family reservation previously provided a price advantage only for constellations of three or more travelers.
About 6.7 million passengers booked family reservations on Deutsche Bahn last year, which amounts to 5% of its long-distance travelers.
The Pro Bahn passenger association has commented on the railway's plans.
- Reservation
- Deutsche Bahn
- Children
- Car
- Pro Bahn
- Seat
- Minor Income Families
- Climate Concerns
- Scandal
- CDU
- Family-Friendly Travel
- Policy Criticism
- Political Reaction
- Public Transport Equity
- Eco-Friendly Mobility
- The German Social Association has expressed concerns that the increased seat reservation costs faced by families on Deutsche Bahn may burden low-income households, making the choice for environmentally friendly train travel more difficult.
- Jörg Bruhertseifer from the passenger association Pro Bahn suggested that politics and representatives of Deutsche Bahn should aim to make train journeys with families more cost-effective, as the total cost compared to using a car is a crucial factor for families traveling together.
