No semester ticket from winter semester 23/24

Dear students,

A short time ago you received a request for re-registration from the IPA of the UdK. The semester fee included here is currently 117,29€. This is significantly less than usual. The reason: the semester ticket will no longer be included. From the coming semester onwards, there will therefore be no public transport ticket with which you can move freely in Berlin. 

The official reason for this: It was not possible to conclude a semester ticket contract between the AStA of the UdK Berlin and the VBB. This is not an isolated case - almost all other Asten have made the same decision. 

However, the decision against the semester ticket is complex. We would like to give you the following reasons for this decision:

1. The AStA of the UdK is no longer active - the remaining members no longer have official powers and are therefore not allowed to sign contracts for the student body.
2. The 49,-€ ticket (D-Ticket) is a new model that offers an attractive financial alternative to the semester ticket (approx. 33€ per month). While the Semesterticket has to be purchased permanently, the D-Ticket can be cancelled monthly. 
3. Many students (e.g. who receives housing allowance) could benefit from a 29,-€ or 9,-€ ticket, which is being discussed in the Berlin Senate. Again, the price is cheaper and more flexible than the semester ticket.
4. The crucial point (for all other Asten as well) is the following: According to the last available legal opinion on the semester ticket, a solidarity model is only legitimate if the price is about 50%, or at most 60%, of a comparable public transport ticket. This is no longer the case with the D-Ticket - whereby the services in the D-Ticket are even much more extensive. Without legal legitimacy, there is a possibility that students will sue against the Semesterticket solidarity model. In the worst case scenario, the entire semester ticket process would have to be reversed. The AStA would have to bear the costs. We would not have exposed ourselves to this risk in any case.

The Semesterticket solidarity model will be suspended indefinitely. We demand a clear and quick regulation for cheap public transport tickets from the politicians in the state of Berlin and the federal government. To this end, we are working with the FZS to reduce the price of the D-Ticket for students and will meet with the Senator for Science and Transport in Berlin in the summer. 

The contribution to the solidarity fund will also be suspended. This is not possible otherwise, as the solidarity fund is contractually linked to the Semesterticket solidarity model. 

The contribution to the semester ticket office will remain so that the remaining applications from the current semester can be processed.

What kind of ticket do I have to buy now?

Information material on the possible tickets for students will follow in the summer.

What else can I do?

We need a strong student community to bring back our demands around the solidarity model. Working in university political committees is an important step here. Therefore, we ask that you apply for the student parliament ("StuPa") or support and elect fellow students. More information will follow.

Why doesn't the UdK do anything?

The UdK is only responsible for making sure that the semester ticket process works. The AStA, the VBB and the state of Berlin are responsible for basic contractual matters. 

Why was the semester ticket possible last semester?

Last semester, it was not yet clear at the time the contract was signed whether and when the D-Ticket would be introduced. In addition, the Ministry of Science and Transport from the old Senate paid us a higher one-time subsidy that legitimised the solidarity model. This is not planned for the coming semester due to the new Berlin Senate, the familiarisation of the new senators and the respective interests of the parties.