Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

BERLIN (AP) — Public transit companies in Germany say more than three million people have already snapped up a new ticket being launched Monday that allows them to use all local and regional trains, buses and metros across the country for 49 euros a month. The new Germany Ticket is intended to encourage people to ditch their cars in favor of more environmentally friendly forms of transport. It follows on from an experimental 9-euro ‘all you can ride’ ticket that proved to be success last year, but which officials said wasn’t financially viable. The new ticket is considered a revolution in Germany’s fractured public transit system where dozens of regional companies offered myriad different fare options that baffled many travelers.