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Shock for commuters: HVV dramatically increases fares by up to 13%!
The HVV will increase fares in Hamburg by up to 13 percent from 2026, citing the need to catch up after the corona crisis.
Shock for commuters: HVV dramatically increases fares by up to 13%!
Fares in the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund (HVV) will rise significantly from January 1, 2025. On average, passengers will incur around 5.4 percent additional costs, with individual tickets even becoming up to 13 percent more expensive. In this way, the HVV is responding to a backlog of demand that arose due to quieter tariff adjustments during the Corona years. This increase is a departure from previous price increase indices, which were heavily oriented towards fuel prices and wage increases. Interestingly, the current inflation rate of over two percent is not used in the calculation, which is met with little understanding by passengers.
The price increase will be particularly blatant for the local area ticket, which will rise from 3.10 euros to 3.50 euros (12.9 percent increase). Other types of tickets are also becoming more expensive: a single trip in two tariff rings will cost 4.10 euros in the future, which means an increase of 5 percent. A new price of 8.20 euros will be set for the day ticket, while short-haul and single trips for children are excluded from the drastic increase. The decision comes at a time when the attractiveness of local public transport should be very important. There has already been criticism of the price increases from the Hamburg CDU, which describes them as unacceptable and sees the risk of endangering user numbers. According to NDR, the HVV is also planning to abolish the popular 9 a.m. day tickets.
Price adjustments in detail
The upcoming price increases are not the only ones that HVV passengers have experienced in recent years. A look back at the price adjustments since 2019 shows that the last five years were already marked by gentle increases:
- 2019: +2,1 Prozent
- 2020: +1,3 Prozent
- 2021: +1,4 Prozent
- 2022: +1,3 Prozent
- 2023: +3,2 Prozent
- 2024: +1,8 Prozent
The upcoming adjustments also affect the weekly and monthly tickets, which will be significantly more expensive. The monthly ticket increases from 69 euros to 78 euros across the entire HVV network, while the weekly ticket climbs from 29 euros to 38 euros. The Germany ticket will also be increased from 49 euros to 58 euros next year. The good thing about it: around 200,000 students in Hamburg have so far used the free Germany ticket, which makes the planned increase from 58 to 63 euros particularly explosive.
In summary, the price increase will affect many Hamburg residents and commuters. The HVV is not only causing a sharp increase in ticket prices, but also some changes in the ticket offering. The principle “booking online is cheaper” remains, as prices remain 7 percent lower when booking via smartphone. This information comes from the current statements of the HVV on hamburg.de.
With all of these changes, transport companies are faced with the challenge of maintaining the attractiveness of public transport and convincing passengers of the planned ticket price increases. It remains to be seen how the Hamburg transport association will react to the initial reactions of passengers.