The range of tickets available on smaller devices is to be limited.
© dpa
From 2029, passengers on the Berlin Transport Authority (BVG) will be able to buy contactless, cashless tickets on buses, trams and at underground stations.
All they need to do is hold their bank card, smartphone or BVG prepaid card up to compact machines with a display – known as validators. However, this does not spell the end for paper tickets or cash payments.
The new technology is already standard practice in many countries outside Germany, said BVG sales manager Michael Beer. Contactless cards have been in use on buses in London for years. Direct card payments are also possible in the Netherlands and in many French cities. In Germany, there have so far only been pilot schemes run by smaller transport operators. The BVG is the first “metropolitan transport operator” to introduce this system. The new technology is likely to be of particular benefit to tourists and occasional passengers. Many Berliners have a Deutschlandticket or buy their tickets via the app.
However, from 2029, anyone who decides on the spur of the moment to board a tram, for example, will be able to choose from a streamlined range of tickets on the validator and pay contactlessly, for instance using a bank card. The ticket will be stored in the cloud. During a ticket inspection, the passenger holds their bank card up to the ticket validator; the ticket is retrieved from the cloud and checked. This system also works on the S-Bahn, which is operated by Deutsche Bahn.
Anyone without a bank card can buy tickets at the ticket validators using a BVG prepaid card. These are available at more than 900 locations across the city, says Beer. “With cash and anonymously.” The same applies to paper tickets. However, Beer also emphasises that more than half of all customers buy single-journey tickets via the app. According to the figures, 76 per cent of revenue from ticket machines in 2025 came from cashless payments.
The ageing ticket machines are to be phased out. According to the BVG, the technology in the 500 machines on trams, which accept cash payments, is 36 years old, whilst that in the large yellow boxes in underground stations is 25 years old. The BVG points out that very few tickets are sold on buses and trams these days anyway. This amounts to three per bus and six per tram each day. The BVG plans to purchase around 3,600 ticket validators, at a cost of around 1,500 euros each. By way of comparison: according to the BVG, just one of the large yellow ticket machines in the underground stations costs up to 40,000 euros.
However, it will still be some time before it is possible to buy a ticket on the tram in Berlin in a cosmopolitan, contactless manner. To begin with, the BVG is consulting passenger and disability organisations to seek their views on various devices. The process of awarding the contract to a supplier is set to begin in early 2027. From 2029, the new devices are then to be gradually installed on buses, trams and in underground stations.