Nationwide Semester Ticket

The application is submitted through an online portal:

• Application for a refund of the semester ticket

Applications for a refund of the nationwide semester ticket can be submitted as follows:

• For the winter semester: Application period from October 1st to October 31st. Deadline for submitting evidence and sending the CampusCard is November 11th.
• For the summer semester: Application period from April 1st to April 30th. Deadline for submitting evidence and sending the CampusCard is May 12th.

For all the reasons listed, the applicant must provide evidence. Incomplete applications submitted after November 11th or May 12th will not be refunded.

Note: once deactivated, nationwide semester tickets cannot currently be reactivated in the current semester! So once refunded, there is no option to buy it back over the course of the semester and therefore no nationwide valid ticket during the holidays.

Not everyone can always use the semester ticket and can therefore have the amount refunded if one of the following reasons for the application can be proven to apply:

• Stay abroad due to your studies for at least 3 months in the application semester
• Double study at two universities with compulsory purchase of semester tickets - here the semester ticket at one university can be reimbursed
• Severe disability with the right to transport and possession of the supplement to the severely disabled person's ID card and the associated token
• Vacation semester
• Health situation that makes it impossible to use public transport for at least 3 consecutive months in the current semester (a pro-rata refund will be made)
• Possession of the Hesse state ticket, provided that the Germany semester ticket can be proven not to have been purchased during the current semester

If none of the reasons listed above apply to you, the RMV semester ticket cannot be refunded.

The Germany semester ticket should only be issued on a chip card if you do not have a corresponding mobile device.

For the output you need

• valid student ID
• official identification
• Certificate of enrollment including confirmation of receipt of the semester ticket (not older than 2 weeks) - at the Student Service Center
• Certificate that no refund has been requested so far (not older than 2 weeks) - at the AStA of the h_da (in the case of a refund of the semester ticket) or Student Service Center (in the case of a refund of the entire semester fee)

Without these documents no chip card can be issued!

• Form for applying for a chip card (pdf)

This will take you to one of the listed sales outlets. The ticket can only be requested/collected by the applicant personally at one of the listed sales points!

• List of sales outlets (pdf)

The sales offices check the documents for completeness and create the ticket directly. Please note: Each chip card must be created/written individually; this will take a corresponding amount of time. And the ticket must be received in person when applying; it cannot in the name of others applied for and not sent.

How much will the semester ticket cost?

Students will receive the Deutschlandticket from the summer semester of 2024 at a reduced price of currently 29.40 euros per month or 60% of the issue price. However, you pay the price when you re-register for the new semester, so the total amount is EUR 176.40.

When will the discounted semester ticket be available for students?

The offer is valid from the summer semester of 2024. The ticket is valid from April 1st, 2024. Further information such as the link to register for the nationwide semester ticket will follow shortly.

Which people are excluded from the semester ticket?

• Guest auditors and second auditors within the meaning of the relevant higher education law,
• Students who are exclusively enrolled in an evening, online or distance learning course without compulsory attendance ("distance students"),
• Students in part-time study programs who spend most of their time pursuing their job and not their studies

Is the ticket valid throughout Germany?

The nationwide semester ticket is valid in the same areas as the Germany ticket, i.e. only local and regional transport. But you can find a detailed description of the area of ​​validity here: https://www.bahn.de/faq/deutschlandticket-verkehrsmittel-deutschland

How is the ticket issued?

By law, the Deutschlandticket must be issued in digital form - so the nationwide semester ticket will also be available as a mobile phone ticket. All information for access follows! And without a cell phone? The RMV will continue to provide solutions here until April 2024.

Will the semester ticket become more expensive if the price of the Germany ticket increases?

According to the decision, the semester ticket for students should cost 60% of the issue price. This price is currently 29.40 euros. If the Germany ticket becomes more expensive, the price of the semester ticket would also have to be adjusted. As student representatives, we are committed to price stability and will do everything we can to ensure that the Germany ticket remains available for 49 euros and the semester ticket for 29.40 euros.

Do all students have to pay for this ticket as part of their semester fees?

Universities, student unions and student representatives are free to choose the solidarity offer for their students or to make them another offer. In the former case (solidarity model), the offer for the Deutschlandticket applies to all students at the university who finance the reduced solidarity price through their semester contributions. In this case, monthly cancellation is not possible. Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences will be working with this solidarity model from the summer semester of 2024. In contrast to the upgrade function, the semester ticket cannot be canceled (monthly).

In my city there is a semester ticket that is much cheaper than the semester ticket for the Germany ticket. Can I keep this?

Universities, student unions and student representatives are free to negotiate alternative semester ticket models with transport companies and associations. In some cases these can be significantly cheaper, but only apply within the local association boundaries and not throughout Germany.

However, a decision for the semester ticket to the Deutschlandticket always applies to all students at the respective university, as it is a solidarity model. Individual agreements are not possible alongside this model. The student bodies at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences have decided to introduce the nationwide semester ticket.

Key messages

Since employees with the job ticket also receive a discount for the Germany ticket, it is only fair to also offer a discounted ticket for students.

Almost 3 million students nationwide can benefit from this offer, provided that the respective university wants to take part. The Studi-Ticket is a first sign of climate protection, transport transition and social justice.

However, that is not enough because some of our demands have not been met. Please feel free to sign and share the petition from LAK Hessen, PROBahn, the student representatives and many supporters from trade unions and alliances in the transport sector: Petition · For a nationwide valid education ticket!

One of the social tickets for the D-Ticket! As a solidarity model, the semester ticket is budget-neutral. This means that this discount does not put a strain on public budgets, but rather is self-sustaining through the additional income. Students, transport companies and the public sector benefit from this.

"In an effort to address the social and economic concerns of students and ensure the mobility of students using environmentally friendly transportation, RMV and the AStA enter into the following agreement: [...]" states the preamble of the contract between AStA and RMV.

The semester ticket operates on the principle of solidarity – everyone must pay the amount as part of their enrollment or re-registration, making it significantly more affordable compared to regular individual time passes.

Even for those of you who use the ticket infrequently, there is a price advantage over purchasing single tickets, even with limited use.

Especially when you already have the ticket in hand, the barrier to using public transportation becomes much lower. Reducing this barrier is another important reason for the semester ticket. Riding the tram is more convenient when you don't have to worry about fares and don't need to dig for change for every trip.

Students with a semester ticket are considered passengers just like everyone else and can therefore make use of passenger rights in rail transport. In order to be able to claim this, you must fill out a reimbursement application, which is available on the RMV website or in the RMV mobility centers. The most important passenger rights are briefly summarized below.

Travel regulations

• Your own children up to the age of 5 (inclusive) can be taken along on the semester ticket.
• If you want to take a bike with you, you must purchase a regular bike card if you have to pay for taking the bike with you on the respective trip (e.g. free within the RMV as long as space allows, with priority given to people in wheelchairs or strollers).
• If you want to take a dog with you, you must purchase a regular ticket if you are required to pay a fee for taking it with you on the respective journey.

Passenger rights in rail transport and RMV rail transport

• Link to passenger rights

Even if you are enrolled for only a few days in the new semester, submit your thesis, and then promptly leave the RMV area, according to the contract with RMV, deregistration (exmatriculation) is not a valid reason for a refund of the semester ticket. In this case, we recommend applying for a leave of absence (Urlaubssemester), which is possible if "re-registration is due to a colloquium or an academic achievement after submitting the thesis," and subsequently submitting an RMV refund request citing "leave of absence."

Neither the AStA nor RMV have legal or technical control over the issuance of student IDs, and any delays in this regard are not the responsibility of either the AStA or RMV. If someone has not received their new ID card in time for the start of the semester, they should please contact the university's Student Service Center (SSC).

• If you have any questions about conditions and contractual aspects => please contact us, the AStA of h_da
• If you have technical problems retrieving or displaying the Germany semester ticket => please contact Digital H at support@digital-h.de
• For general questions or comments about the Germany semester ticket => please contact the RMV