In Frankfurt am Main, it's easy to get around without a car. Whether on foot, by bike or with trains and buses: "To make it easier to switch from private cars to environmentally friendly means of transport, the city of Frankfurt am Main is now rewarding everyone who deregisters their car with a Deutschland-Ticket for one year," announces Wolfgang Siefert, Head of Mobility. "This means that citizens can travel by public transport in Frankfurt and Germany free of charge for one year. In doing so, they are making an important contribution to the climate transition and are helping to ensure efficient transportation in Frankfurt by switching to space-saving modes of transport."
This "environmental bonus" is valid from Monday, 1 July and is worth the equivalent of 588 euros. After one year, it will be evaluated whether the environmental bonus has proved its worth. It is aimed at all Frankfurters who (still) own a vehicle with a combustion engine.
In Frankfurt, Siefert is convinced that giving up your own car should be easy. "We are a city of short distances, the cycle network is being consistently expanded and we have a dense local transport network that is available to citizens every day and around the clock. These options are supplemented by rental bicycles, e-scooters and car-sharing services."
This is how the switch to eco-friendliness works
In order to be able to swap your car for a free Deutschland-Ticket, the following requirements must be met: The offer is aimed at people who have their primary residence in Frankfurt and are at least 18 years old. They must have scrapped, sold or given away their car with a combustion engine no more than three months ago. In addition, they must not have registered or registered a new vehicle in the year prior to submitting the application and, of course, while receiving the environmental bonus.
Then a little "paperwork" is required: First, you apply to the Federal Motor Transport Authority for a free postal extract from the Central Vehicle Register for all vehicles stored for your person. With this and the completed order form for the Deutschland-Ticket as an environmental bonus, you apply for the bonus at the VGF TicketCenter on the B level of the Hauptwache. If you are eligible, you will receive the chip card with your personal Deutschland-Ticket subscription on the spot and can then travel directly.
City campaign with support from traffiQ and VGF
The city is being supported in the implementation by the municipal public transport company traffiQ and Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main (VGF). traffiQ is responsible for the conception and communication of the environmental bonus. Managing Director Prof. Tom Reinhold says: "In Frankfurt, nobody has to own a car anymore. Frankfurt's attractive local public transport system with its 24/7 service, supplemented by other mobility options such as car sharing, is a good argument for doing without a car. The Deutschland-Ticket as an environmental bonus even makes sustainable mobility possible nationwide."
With its flexible sales options, the VGF ensures that the Deutschland-Ticket as an environmental bonus reaches those who have given up their cars. "Our aim is to get people excited about public transport and, of course, to provide them with the necessary tickets," explains Managing Director Kerstin Jerchel. "We are pleased that the environmental bonus creates incentives to do without a car and stay mobile at the same time."
Contribution for people and the environment
"With the Frankfurt Climate City concept and the Mobility Master Plan, the city of Frankfurt has set itself the goal of reducing motorized private transport in the city - to enable efficient mobility despite growing traffic, to increase people's quality of life and to counteract climate change," says mobility department head Siefert. "With the environmental bonus, we are adding another building block to our package of measures."
Further information on the environmental bonus is available online at rmv-frankfurt.de/umweltpraemie.
