Politics · Germany · 4 hrs ago
NRW minister backs digital pay-as-you-go public transport fares nationwide
NRW offers eezy.nrw, a digital ticket for people who use buses and trains only occasionally.
Riders register by phone, check in and out at stops, and pay based on the distance travelled, up to the price of the cheapest standard single ticket.
Transport Minister Oliver Krischer wants the system extended across Germany, saying it could simplify a complicated patchwork of fares.
He says the digital system can also reduce operators’ costs because they need fewer ticket machines.
Other state ministers removed the nationwide proposal from their meeting agenda, and Krischer says he has not heard a substantive reason for their opposition.
The ticket requires a smartphone, and accurate location data and mobile coverage are needed for it to work.
There is no nationwide rollout decision, while NRW continues to use eezy.nrw alongside the Deutschlandticket for frequent riders.
North Rhine-Westphalia transport minister Oliver Krischer says a digital pay-as-you-go fare for occasional public transport users could work across Germany.
The eezy.nrw system lets registered users check in and out by phone, then calculates fares based on the distance travelled.
Krischer says the fare simplifies a complex ticket system and costs transport operators less to distribute digitally.
He says the proposal does not call for extending North Rhine-Westphalia’s price cap nationwide or replacing the Deutschlandticket.
Krischer says the proposal was removed from the agenda of a meeting of Germany’s transport ministers, and he said he had heard no substantive reason for that decision.
- Who
- North Rhine-Westphalia transport minister Oliver Krischer is backing the proposal.
- What
- He supports a nationwide digital pay-as-you-go fare for occasional public transport users, based on the eezy.nrw system.
- When
- Krischer’s interview was published on October 26, 2026. The date of the ministers’ meeting is not stated.
- Where
- The proposal is for Germany; the existing eezy.nrw system operates in North Rhine-Westphalia.
- Why
- Krischer says it would simplify a complex fare system and lower distribution costs for transport operators.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
eezy.nrw recorded 1.4 million trips, which Krischer described as a new record.
The nationwide occasional-user fare was removed from the agenda of the transport ministers’ conference.
taz.de published an interview in which Krischer backed making a digital fare available across Germany.
- Minister
- Oliver Krischer, North Rhine-Westphalia
- Existing fare
- eezy.nrw
- September trips
- 1.4 million
- Fare calculation
- Based on the straight-line distance travelled, with a maximum of the cheapest applicable single ticket
- Registration and travel
- Users register by phone and check in and out at stops across North Rhine-Westphalia
- Interview publication
- October 26, 2026
3 sources
What people are saying
We wanted a system that is as simple as possible and uniform across the whole country. That also makes it fair.
The idea of introducing a digitally valid fare for occasional users across Germany is now on the table.
The occasional-user fare does not cost extra money; it saves money.