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Frankfurt Car-Return Pilot Sees Nearly 750 Residents Swap Cars for a Yearlong Deutschlandticket

City points to a lasting modal shift supported by a favorable balance of costs and savings.

Overview

  • Officials report that nearly 750 residents have given up combustion-engine cars since August 2024, with 391 currently using the exchanged annual pass.
  • A survey found participants’ main-mode car use fell from 26% before enrollment to 7% after receiving the ticket.
  • Traffiq and the city estimate about €400,000 in program costs against quantified benefits of roughly €100,000 from CO2 avoidance, €875,000 in parking-space savings and €80,000 in additional fare revenue.
  • Eligibility requires proof of selling, gifting or scrapping a combustion car within five months and no new registrations for 12 months before and during the subsidy, with KBA confirmations and spot checks finding no abuse.
  • The measure remains a three-year pilot and any extension will hinge on uptake and political decisions, as a comparable Marburg program has been suspended for budget reasons.