Semester ticket FAQ
Here you will find answers to the most important questions about the semester ticket. More information about the semester ticket can be found at NAH.SH.
What is the Deutschland-Semesterticket?
The DE-SeTi is a discounted Deutschlandticket and is valid nationwide in 2nd class on all local buses and trains, wherever the Deutschlandticket is valid. The DE-SeTi is based on a Agreement between the federal and state governments and is intended to provide students throughout Germany with affordable mobility. The ticket will be offered to student bodies by the transport associations from 2024 on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport.
Where is the semester ticket valid? For which means of transportation?
In general, the semester ticket is valid around the clock for any number of journeys on local public transport (train, bus, streetcar, subway and suburban trains) in 2nd class - throughout Germany with all participating transport companies.
Further information on the scope of application can be found here.
How much does the ticket cost?
The price is 60% of the price of the Deutschlandticket (currently €49/month, from 2025 €58/month) and will therefore be 29,40€ per month when it is introduced in the winter semester 2024/2025. Just like the existing nationwide semester ticket, the DE-SeTi will be purchased by the student body as a whole. You do not need to buy any additional tickets to use it, as you have already paid for the semester ticket with your semester fee for the entire semester.
You can find the current price breakdown of the semester fee (including the semester ticket) here.
Who made the decision in favour of the nationwide semester ticket?
Can I also use it at the weekend or during the semester break?
Yes, the ticket is valid and can be used around the clock and on all days of the week, even during the semester break. For the winter semester, the validity period begins on October 1, for the summer semester on April 1.
Can I take other people/my bike/dogs with me?
With the Deutschlandticket, any number of children up to the age of 5 can travel free of charge. The Deutschlandticket does not have any other regulations, e.g. at weekends.
Children up to and including the age of 14 travel at the reduced single fare (one-way ticket child).
The carriage of bicycles and dogs is not included in the Deutschlandticket. The regulations of the transport association in which you are traveling apply.
Where and how do I get my ticket?
The nationwide semester ticket is available as a cell phone ticket and as a special solution as a chip card, if the use of a cell phone ticket is not possible.
The digital Deutschland-Semesterticket must be requested and activated via the new order portal for the digital Deutschland-Semesterticket.
You can find more information about unlocking and the order page here.
I get an error message when ordering the ticket.
We have compiled a list of the most common problems and solutions on our "Activating your semester ticket" information page.
There, simply scroll down to "Troubleshooting".
What about refunds and hardship cases?
The reasons for reimbursement of the semester ticket are semesters abroad, people with certain impairments, studying outside the federal state, or exmatriculation.
For people whose hardship application is approved, the student body will cover the costs of the semester ticket in solidarity. Hardship applications can be submitted to the Hardship Commission.
You can find the exact regulations and applications on our information page "Refund & hardship cases".
Are there different levels of the semester ticket?
There is only one form of semester ticket, there are no different gradations (“Kiel only”, “without Hamburg”). Only through this solidarity-based form of financing is the nationwide semester ticket possible for all students at the current price.
Can we as a student body opt out of the ticket again?
Der Ausstieg aus dem DE-SeTi erfolgt durch eine Entscheidung des Studierendenparlaments, dabei muss eine ordentliche Kündigungsfrist von sechs Monaten zum jeweiligen Semesterende eingehalten werden. Im Fall einer Preiserhöhung gilt ein Sonderkündigungsrecth von 3 Monaten vor Beginn des Semesters. Ein Rückkehr zum landesweiten Semesterticket ist bis zum Beginn Wintersemester 2025/26 möglich.
But I don't travel by train or bus at all. Do I still have to pay for the ticket?
The ticket is supported by solidarity, similar to the canteens or the student councils, which are also co-financed from your semester fee.
Where can I read the fare regulations?
How will the price of the ticket develop?
The price of the DE-SeTi is set by political decision at 60% of the price of the regular Deutschlandticket and is therefore directly linked to the price development of the Deutschlandticket. The latter, in turn, is dependent on agreement between the federal and state governments on the financing of the Deutschlandticket.
Unlike the previous state-wide semester ticket, the DE-SeTi does not pass on the actual journeys made by students to all students, but instead applies a flat rate. The Federal Ministry of Transport arbitrarily set the price at 60%. Under the current conditions, the DE-SeTi will only cost €0.88 more per month than the existing state-wide semester ticket with a significantly larger area of validity. However, in the event of price increases for the Deutschlandticket, the DE-SeTi would also become correspondingly more expensive and could become unattractive or disadvantageous for students in terms of price compared to the existing nationwide model.
In future, the price should be fixed at least eight months before the start of each semester and, in the event of a price increase, the DE-SeTi contract can be terminated up to three months before the start of the semester. This gives the student body the opportunity to evaluate possible price increases and react to them. Theoretically, in the event of a significant price increase, it would be possible to return to the nationwide semester ticket after renewed negotiations between student bodies and regional transport companies at comparable conditions to the existing nationwide ticket.
Why was there a student survey on the DE semester ticket?
Switching to the DE-SeTi allows students flexible and supra-regional mobility. Instead of just to Lauenburg or Wedel, the ticket will be valid to Lörrach and Oberwiesenthal from the winter semester onwards. And in addition to using the Fördelinie F1 ferry at the weekend and during Kiel Week 2025, the DE-SeTi also includes the Lübeck Priwall ferry for students from Kiel and Flensburg. At the same time, we as a student body are giving up our previous, painstakingly negotiated state-wide semester ticket in the solidarity model and will instead purchase a ticket in the subscription model with a fixed price from the winter semester.
The student parliament (StuPa) had to make a decision in February so that the switch from the state-wide semester ticket to the DE semester ticket would be possible in the coming winter semester. After extensive deliberation, the parliament decided in favor of the change, as the advantages of the DE-SeTi outweigh the additional financial burden for students from the perspective of the student representatives. In order to find out what all CAU students think about the semester ticket, the StuPa also decided to conduct a student survey on the semester ticket in the coming summer semester.
In the student survey, all students will be asked - following a detailed information campaign on the conditions and possible price development of both tickets - whether they support the decision to switch to the DE-SeTi or whether they are in favor of returning to the expiring nationwide semester ticket. If the vote is in favor of a state-wide semester ticket, it would be possible to switch back to this for the 2025 summer semester.
Background information:
Before the state-wide semester ticket was introduced in 2019, all CAU students were asked in a student survey whether they would like to switch from the regional ticket valid at the time to the state-wide semester ticket. In the survey, the majority of students were in favor of extending the area of validity and the StuPa followed this decision and introduced the state-wide ticket. Although the switch from the regional to the nationwide semester ticket was only a "minor" change in terms of the area of validity compared to the switch to the nationwide DE semester ticket that has now been decided, it had much more far-reaching consequences from the 2019/2020 winter semester in terms of the financial burden on students than the switch to the DE semester ticket decided in February 2024.
The mobile ticket is not displayed correctly on Huawei devices without an Android license. What can I do?
If you are using a Huawei-smartphone, you have the option of loading the mobile ticket into the DB Navigator app from the Huawei AppGallery. How it works: Order the mobile ticket as described. After ordering, load the ticket into DB Navigator ("Travel" menu item and then select the plus symbol). We cannot guarantee that this method will work permanently.
Source: nah.sh