Free transport

The free transport (colloquially called free ride called) in approved public transport can take people to complete, which was recognized disability by the competent authority. The scope of the regulation in Germany is unique worldwide. It is certified by a sheet with a printed token attached to the actual severely handicapped pass, both of which serve as a ticket.

Germany

In Germany, the pension office certifies in the severely handicapped ID whether one of the following marks has been awarded: handicapped (G, significantly impaired in mobility in traffic), deaf (GL), helpless (H).

The symbols aG (extraordinary walking disability) and Bl (blind) entitle the holder to free transport, as they include the symbols G and H. The free transport serves to integrate disabled people into work , profession and society . The legal basis are Sections 228 to 237, Ninth Book of the Social Code .

Other beneficiaries

According to the vested rights in the “Law on the Free Transport of Severely Disabled Persons in Public Transport”, this also applies to those entitled to care and compensation (mark: war- damaged , VB or EB) from a degree of damage consequences (GdS) of at least 70 today, because disabled people already existed were entitled to travel freely on October 1, 1979 on the basis of the “Law on the Free Transport of War and Military Disabled Persons and Other Disabled Persons in Local Transport”; the proportional war damage, VB or EB must reach at least a degree of 50 for this. Severely disabled Germans abroad who enter Germany for the purpose of visiting the Federal Republic of Germany can, after substantiating the requirements, be given the “ID card for free transport” for the duration of their stay, including a free sheet.

Severely handicapped ID cards that were issued before the entry into force of SGB IX on July 1, 2001 without a mark allowing free travel, but because of deafness , are still admitted for free transport with their orange imprint and without mark until their validity expires.

Disabled people with a degree of disability (GdB) of less than 50 are not entitled to free transport, even if there is “permanent loss of physical mobility”, as the required marks cannot be awarded here.

The severely handicapped pass, which entitles the holder to free transport, is marked in addition to the basic color green with a half-sided, orange-colored surface imprint.

Supplement / vehicle tax

Free transport is granted regardless of income ; From the age of six, it is only valid in conjunction with a supplement to the severely handicapped ID card , which every severely handicapped person receives free of charge from the pension office together with the severely handicapped ID card and for which he or she receives a token from the pension office for a contribution of currently 40 euros for half a or 80 euros for a whole Year, unless he applies for a reduction or waiver of his vehicle tax at the main customs office on presentation of his “empty” supplement .

Anyone who wants to return the supplement with the token before the expiry of the period of validity or instead (with the G or GL mark) would like to claim the vehicle tax reduction, will be reimbursed the annual amount pro rata for each remaining month of validity, provided the validity is not less than three months. At the latest six weeks before the token expires, the ID card holder will be sent a transfer form without being asked, in order to request a new token for another (half) year if necessary.

If only the mark G or GL has been assigned, a token can only be purchased if the vehicle tax reduction is not already being used.

In certain cases, both free travel and tax benefits can apply.

Severely disabled people who are blind (BL) or helpless (H) who receive benefits to secure their livelihood in accordance with SGB II , VII or XII or benefits in accordance with the Federal Pension Act, receive the token on the supplementary sheet free of charge. This also applies to severely disabled people if they were or would have been entitled to travel free of charge before October 1, 1979 on the basis of the "Law on the Free Transport of War and Military Disabled Persons and Other Disabled Persons in Local Transport", if they were not domiciled at that time or habitual residence in the GDR .

Means of transport for the free travel authorization

The severely handicapped pass with free travel authorization (valid token) entitles the holder to use:

Local and regional railways (Regionalbahn (RB), Regional-Express (RE), Interregio-Express (IRE), S-Bahn and NE-Bahn ) each in 2nd class; also long-distance trains, if they can be used with local transport tickets (e.g. Rostock – Stralsund, Norddeich Mole – Bremen Hbf)
Line buses (also for the Kehlsteinhaus )
School, professional, citizen , market and theater buses
Trams
Underground, elevated and suspension railways
Transfer ferries (also to the North Sea islands in Lower Saxony , with the Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei ferries to Föhr and Amrum , to the Baltic Sea island of Hiddensee , in the port of Hamburg , on the Wannsee and other waters in Berlin and on Lake Constance )
Shared taxis if the conditions of carriage do not allow getting off outside the stops or if this is only permitted outside a locality (in this case free travel only to the last local stop)
H-trains and similar means of transport etc. a. in Wuppertal , Dresden and in the Thuringian Forest

The free travel authorization has been valid nationwide since September 1, 2011. The previously existing distance restrictions in the Deutsche Bahn network no longer apply from this date. Some transport associations that serve areas in neighboring countries also allow free transport there. Free travel ( to Lottstetten ) also applies to German stations on the Schaffhausen – Bülach railway line .

Transport companies that can prove by means of passenger counting that the majority of their passengers travel more than 50 km can be exempted from the obligation to transport free of charge for the routes concerned.

Foreign train stations with recognition of free travel

Denmark : Tondern
Poland : Świnoujście Centrum , Krzewina Zgorzelecka
Czech Republic : Varnsdorf (only via Mittelherwigsdorf – Varnsdorf – Eibau railway line , the Varnsdorf Staré Nádraží and Varnsdorf-pivovár Kocour stations are also located here), Vejprty
Austria : Salzburg main station , Salzburg-Liefering , Salzburg Taxham Europark , Salzburg Aiglhof , Salzburg Mülln-Altstadt , Kufstein , Ehrwald
Switzerland Basel SBB , Basel Badischer Bahnhof , Schaffhausen , Kreuzlingen , Kreuzlingen Hafen, Kreuzlingen Bernrain , Tägerwilen - Gottlieben , Kurzrickenbach Seepark, Thayngen , Herblingen , Neuhausen Badischer Bahnhof , Neuhausen SBB, Neuhausen Rheinfall, Beringen Badischer Bahnhof , Beringerfeld , Neunkirch , Wilchingen -Hallau , Trasadingen , Riehen and Riehen Niederholz
France : Lauterbourg , Wissembourg , Saargemünd (here only with the Saarbahn )
Netherlands : Enschede , Enschede De Eschmarke , Glanerbrug
Luxembourg : Since March 1, 2020 , the whole of the Grand Duchy has been free of charge in public transport, regardless of the requirements, including on the funicular or the Luxembourg tram . ( CFL trains : 2nd class).

Other facilities and discounts

Severely handicapped ID cards with the mark B - accompaniment - entitle you to take an accompanying person and / or a dog with you free of charge when traveling within Germany. This applies with token or other tickets, in local and long-distance transport, also in first class, in long-distance buses and in air traffic.

Severely disabled persons or persons entitled to compensation with a GdS of 70 and over can use the mark “1. Kl. "Are awarded. This, in conjunction with the supplement or a second class ticket, entitles you to use first class on railways. Without this mark, a normal first class ticket is required for first class. First-class surcharges may only be combined with free travel in some transport associations.

Some airlines, such as Lufthansa , offer discounts for war invalids and victims of Nazi persecution.

From a GdB of 70, severely disabled people can purchase the " BahnCard 25 or 50" at a reduced price. The DB “passenger regulation” does not apply to the severely handicapped ID card. It is also not possible to bring children between the ages of 6 and 15 with the DB free of charge, as these must be noted on a ticket. However, a child travels free of charge from the age of six or from the beginning of school attendance as an accompanying person for a severely disabled person.

The mark B (escort) also entitles you to reserve one or two seats in DB long-distance services free of charge . Regardless of this, disabled people in local and long-distance traffic are entitled to the seats with a “stylized cross” or to the seats labeled “severely disabled”.

Orthopedic aids , such as wheelchairs , rollators or other objects that serve the mobility of the disabled, are also transported free of charge, provided the nature of the vehicle allows this. These include, for example , three-wheelers for the disabled , but not ordinary bicycles or tandems . E-scooters have been approved under certain conditions since 2017.

History of free travel

The history of free travel began as early as April 1, 1944, when “in appreciation of the great sacrifices made by war victims for people and empire”, the “ Ordinance on Perks for War Victims in Public Passenger Transport ” came into force, which provides free transport ordered by war invalids from a (then so called) reduction in earning capacity ( MdE ) of 70% and a possibly required accompanying person.

The following could be used freely:

Trams,
S-Bahn in Berlin and Hamburg, as well
Local buses.

The transport companies have not yet been reimbursed for the lost fares . The Federal Administrative Court decided in 1962 that the state should compensate the transport companies for the free transport; however, since an amendment to the law was already in progress, the reimbursement was no longer included in the old regulation. The ordinance is still used in Austria today , as the country belonged to the German Reich at the time it was announced and the ordinance was adopted after the Second World War. In 1999 it was planned to repeal the regulation in Austria as part of a so-called “federal legal adjustment”. However, this was quickly abandoned, as there will probably be more war victims in at least twenty years than was initially assumed.

On January 1, 1966, the ordinance of 1944 was replaced by the “Law on the Free Transport of War and Military Disabled Persons and Other Disabled Persons in Local Transport”. What was new here was the long-term demand for reimbursement for lost fares and the inclusion of “civilian handicapped people” if they were disabled or blind, had reached the age of six and their income was at least below the standard social assistance rate. The term “handicapped”, however, only referred to the physically handicapped , not - as it is today - also, for example, to the mentally disabled or asthma sufferers. Even this new law did not allow train travel.

From now on they could be used freely

Trams
S-Bahn
Transfer ferries
Trolleybuses
Omnibuses in local and neighboring local traffic.

The so-called “intercity buses” did not belong to the local transport concept at the time. This accordingly disadvantaged those who lived in the countryside. The buses of the Bundespost and Bundesbahn could, however, use war- disabled persons and blind people over the age of 70 according to their tariff regulations at the time, whereas this was only permitted for disabled civilians within the framework of the Free Travel Act (i.e. only in local traffic).

On October 1, 1979, the old free travel regulation for disabled people and other groups became today's free travel (law on the free transport of severely disabled people in local transport). For the use of this "disadvantage compensation", the required "considerable impairment of mobility in road traffic" - which is noted in the ID card with a G - was initially assumed by law until April 1, 1984 for an MdE of at least 80 percent due to administrative simplification. In the case of an MdE of 50 to 70 percent, it had to be checked in each individual case whether the requirements were met . This is the only practice today. Helplessness (H) also allows free transport. The GL symbol, which is also justified, has only existed since 2001 (introduction of SGB IX); Since deaf people were still entitled to free transport, these people were also given a free travel pass, but with a crossed out G (unless they were also disabled).

It was also planned (during the GDR era) to include domestic German air traffic to and from Berlin. However, for cost reasons it was not possible to realize this. As a result of austerity measures was the 1 April 1984 personal contribution introduced by the year 120 deutsche mark; it was reduced to 60 euros with the introduction of the euro, but set at 80 euros from January 1, 2016, after the price of the token had been increased to 72 euros the year before. Only war invalids (within the framework of a vested interest), the blind, the helpless and welfare recipients are exempt from the personal contribution. Deaf people were removed from the group of those entitled to free travel. The "Federal Railroad Route Directory", also introduced in 1979, and thus the free travel on DB trains outside of transport associations, has been repealed. The legal requirement that severely disabled people with an MdE of 80 percent or more suffer from a walking disability in most cases was also rejected. On October 1st of the following year, however, the exclusion of the deaf and the abolition of the route directory were reversed. Since then it has also been possible to purchase a half-yearly token. The route directory has its roots in the " Freight Transport Act ". There the area around 50 kilometers from a town center was referred to as the near area. This is why there were “local freight traffic cards” for all cities and municipalities in Germany. These are the templates with which the former Federal Railway created the route directories and forwarded them to the pension offices. These were last created by the DB in 1994 due to the reorganization of the course book routes due to the accession of the GDR to the Federal Republic with computers. In total, route directories were only drawn up twice.

Originally it was not planned to include trains outside of transport associations in the free journey. Allegedly insurmountable hurdles and questions regarding the delimitation could finally be solved by taking the Freight Transport Act as a basis: The local centers of the Freight Transport Act were determined by the respective authority and were by no means always based on the actual local center, but corresponded to the location which was more advantageous for industrial areas was. In several of these locations, a single city could have up to three local centers. With regard to the route directory, this meant that some of the routes did not end at a distance of 50 kilometers, but included up to 70 kilometers of free travel - depending on the relevant local center. The term “local transport” was extended to 75 kilometers in the Road Freight Transport Act in 1992, so a new regulation had to be found. In 1994 the DB developed a program for an exact radius of 51 kilometers, taking into account the actual local centers . One additional kilometer was granted by DB on a voluntary basis to avoid hardship. The inclusion of trains outside of the transport associations was considered necessary, since disabled people who live in areas where only rail traffic is operated would otherwise have been disadvantaged.

Since September 1, 2011, the aforementioned distance restrictions have been lifted by an agreement between Deutsche Bahn and the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs . Now holders of the supplement to the severely handicapped ID card can "travel nationwide consistently on all local trains of the DB - Regionalbahn (RB), Regionalexpress (RE), Interregio-Express (IRE) and S-Bahn - free of charge in 2nd class".

The state of Berlin (West) had a special position in West Germany with regard to free travel from 1966 to 1982 . According to the “Law on Discounts for Damaged People”, in addition to the federal uniform free travel for war disabled, all severely disabled people with an MdE of at least 70% could be transported free of charge on the means of transport of the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe - BVG. The stamp “Freifahrt in Berlin” was entered in the column “Sondervermerke des Landes” on the severely handicapped ID card. Disabled people with an MdE of 50 or 60 percent who suffered from a walking disability received fare reductions of at least 25 percent if they were gainfully employed.

In the GDR there was a similar development as in the Federal Republic. There, associations for the disabled even managed to extend free travel to the whole country (order of January 5, 1984 on the public transport of people and luggage). After reunification , until the merger of the Deutsche Bundesbahn with the Deutsche Reichsbahn on January 1, 1994 , disabled people from the GDR were transported up to 70 kilometers from their place of residence based on a transitional arrangement based on train kilometers. The personal contribution was reduced by half.

Cost of free transport

According to Section 228 (7) SGB IX, the transport companies are reimbursed for any loss of income resulting from the free transport. According to Section 234 of Book IX of the Social Code, the states generally bear the costs incurred. Notwithstanding this, the federal government pays the loss of income in long-distance transport and transport companies that are predominantly owned by the federal government.

Switzerland

In Switzerland there is an “ID card for travelers with a disability”, also known as the “companion card”. It entitles you to take an accompanying person, a guide dog or both with you on public transport in Switzerland free of charge. If the accompanying person has a ticket, the disabled person travels free of charge. The accompanying person must be available for the disabled person during the entire journey. There is a discount for international travel. An identification document for disabled travelers that is not issued in Switzerland does not result in a discount when purchasing tickets there.

Austria

Austria provides free transport only for war invalids. The ÖBB mobility service offers aids that can also be reserved online. With an Austrian disability pass, you can use ÖBB at half price. A degree of disability of 70% or the following sentence is required for this: "The holder of the pass can take advantage of the reduced fare according to the Federal Disabled Persons Act." necessary. Accompanying person or assistance dog travel free of charge if this is noted in the disability pass.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ [1] Zoll.de: Handicapped

↑ https://www.schwerbehindertenausweis.de/nachteilsausgleiche/steuern/verguenstigungen-bei-der-kraftfahrzeugsteuer#more-51

↑ https://www.schwerbehindertenausweis.de/uebersicht-der-nutzungsmoegitäten-der-unentgeltliche-befoerderung-und-der-kraftfahrzeugsteuer

↑ http://www.oepnv-info.de/freifahrt/uebersichten/uebersicht-der-verkehrmittel-mit-schwerbehindertenausweis

↑ http://www.oepnv-info.de/freifahrt/uebersichten/freiggenze-fernverkehrszuege-mit-dem-schwerbehindertenausweis

↑ http://www.rvo-bus.de/oberbayernbus/view/freizeittipps/ausflugsbusse/kehlsteinhaus.shtml

↑ Severely handicapped people with the appropriate ID are transported free of charge in the citizens' bus as in all other local transport. The district government reimburses the lost fare. This is done via the responsible transport company, which informs the district government of the percentage of severely disabled people transported in the past financial year and receives reimbursement for this portion.

↑ https://www.oepnv-info.de/aktuelles/themen/faehren-zu-den-ostfriesischen-inseln-per-freifahrt-fuer-schwerbehinderte-menschen-nutzbar

↑ https://www.oepnv-info.de/freifahrt/informationen/schleswig-holstein/verkehrsmittel-schleswig-holstein/faehren-der-wyker-dampfschiffs-reederei

↑ https://www.oepnv-info.de/freifahrt/informationen/mecklenburg-vorpommern/faehren-mecklenburg-vorpommern/faehren-der-reederei-hiddensee

↑ http://www.oepnv-info.de/freifahrt/informationen/baden-wuerttemberg/verkehrsmittel-baden-wuerttemberg/bodenseefaehren-der-bodensee-schiffsbetriebe

↑ ^a ^b bahn.de accessed on May 17, 2013

↑ ^a ^b https://www.oepnv-info.de/freifahrt/informationen/baden-wuerttemberg/tarife-und-besonderheiten-baden-wuerttemberg/strecke-schaffhausen-schweiz-lottstetten-deutschland

↑ https://www.oepnv-info.de/freifahrt/uebersichten/auslaendische-streckenabschnitte-im-bahnverkehr

↑ https://www.oepnv-info.de/freifahrt/uebersichten/ Grenzenueberschreitende-strecken-ohne- freifahrt

↑ valid at Arriva Danmark

↑ on the trains of the Usedomer Bäderbahn and East German Railway