FAQs Semester Ticket
Regulation regarding the 9-Euro-Ticket
Your bought the semester ticket in the summer semester? Get half the price back due to the 9€ ticket! https://www.mvg.de/mvg/services/aktuelles/9-euro-erstattung-semester.html
As you have probably already heard, all local and regional public transport in Germany (without IC/ICE, EC, etc.) can be used in June, July and August as part of the €9 ticket, initiated by the federal government.
What are the modalities for students? The most important thing first: you do not have to purchase your own 9€ ticket, because in the three months mentioned, your validated student ID with the MVV logo is valid as a Germany-wide travel authorization within the framework of the 9€ ticket. This applies regardless of whether you have purchased the IsarCard Semester surcharge ticket or not, the solidarity fee paid as part of your enrolment alone is sufficient.
With the introduction of the extremely low-priced €9 tickets, all subscription customers of the transport companies will receive a pro rata refund of their season tickets. The AK Mobility of the Munich student representatives and the Munich Student Union have successfully campaigned for students to also fully receive this reimbursement.
The reimbursement is divided into two parts: the reimbursement of the solidarity fee for all enrolled students and the reimbursement of the IsarCard semester for all students who acquired it in the 2022 summer semester:
- The solidarity fee will be reimbursed by the universities as part of a one-time fee reduction of €9 upon enrolment or re-registration for the 2022/23 winter semester.
- The 9-euro reduction for the next winter semester results from students having paid 72 euros for the solidarity fee covering 6 months, i.e. 12 euros a month. In June, July and August, when it is possible to obtain a €9-Ticket, students would have thus paid 3 euros a month too much. These three months are added, resulting in the next winter semester’s solidarity fee being reduced by altogether 9 euros.
- Unfortunately, students who don’t re-register with their university for the winter semester 2022/23 will not receive the 9-euro refund. The solidarity fee is basically a financing model built on solidarity, in this case financing first-year students of the winter semester 2022/23 from the students graduating in the summer semester 2022. This decision applies for the whole of Bavaria. It was made by the Ministry for Science and the Arts and co-ordinated with all the universities, the student representation Landesastenkonferenz (LAK) as well as with the Studentenwerke.
- The reimbursement of the IsarCard Semester amounting to €104.65 (half the price) will be made upon applying to MVG for all Munich transport companies via this website: https://www.mvg.de/mvg/services/aktuelles/9-euro-erstattung-semester.html
- Please refrain from sending requests to the universities, the Munich Student Union or the customer centres of the transport companies regarding reimbursement of the IsarCard Semester once you sent the form. If there is a problem with your reimbursement, MVG will contact you.
All important information about the €9 ticket is also summarized on the following website: https://www.semesterticket-muenchen.de/en/9-euro-en/
FAQs concerning the Semesterticket MUNICH
Who all is allowed to use the semester ticket?
Anyone who is matriculated at one of the participating universities as a full-time student and has a student ID with the MVV logo on it. Unfortunately, dual students as well as guest students are not entitled to use the semester ticket.
How far is the semester ticket Munich going?
The semester ticket Munich covers the complete areas of the zones M - 6. This means: On this plan of the Munich Public Transportation Society (MVG), it is the whole coloured area.
IMPORTANT:
If you want to continue your travel farther on, your means of transportation (bus, underground, S-Bahn, regional busses) has to make a STOP at the last station within the covered transportation area. Only with this stop, the semester ticket is valid for the distance from Munich city to this stop! And from this station, you have to buy a ticket for the next part of the journey.
An example:
You want to go to Rosenheim, and you want to use the semester ticket as far as possible. The last station within the area of the semesterticket is "Aßling". So you don't have to buxy a ticket for Munich-city center to Aßling: There the, semester ticket is valid. But you have to buy a ticket from Aßling to Rosenheim. This partition of tickets is only valid if the train stops in Aßling!
If your train doesn't stop in Aßling, you have to buy another ticket from Grafing on - or the latest stop within the covered MVV area.
Can I pay the solidarity fee separately to acquire a semester ticket?
The solidarity fee cannot be paid separately to a participating university, independently from enrolment. Unfortunately, the IsarCard Semester cannot be used without paying the solidarity fee, because the IsarCard Semester is only valid combined with the Student Card/Student ID with the logo of the public transportation company MVV. This student ID is given only to those students having paid the solidarity fee to their university.
Even students at universities whose locations are not included to the solidarity fee statutes (like TUM: Straubing, Heilbronn, Singapur - HSWT: Triesdorf, Straubing - KSH: Benediktbeuern, etc.), who hence don't pay the solidarity fee, cannot use the ticket. Exceptions for individual persons are not possible.
Do I have to buy the semester ticket although I don’t need it?
No student is obliged to buy a 24-hour ticket for the entire MVV area for one semester for 209.30 euros (approx. 34.88 euros per month). For someone who always travels by bike, for example, it may seem too expensive or unnecessary. Only the solidarity fee of 72.00 euros per semester (except for the winter semester 2022/23: only 63 euros, see coloured box above), that is a maximum of 12.00 euros per month, is obligatory. The solidarity fee is an important part of the semester ticket’s overall concept.
How does the solidarity fee benefit me?
Since the summer semester 2021, the mandatory solidarity fee for all students has been 72.00 euros per semester. Because of this contribution, the issued or validated student ID bearing the printed MVV logo can be used as a ticket during following hours:
- Monday to Friday between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following day
- At all hours on Saturdays, Sundays, bank holidays as well as on the 24th and 31st of December
- The ticket is valid within the entire MVV area.
Which forms of transport can I use for free with my student ID?
You are allowed to travel second class with all modes of MVV transport (S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram, bus and authorised regional trains). Should you have any questions about the exact implementation of the tariff model or details on the validity of the semester ticket, please refer to the MVV website or a sales outlet of the MVV.
https://www.mvv-muenchen.de/tickets/zeitkarten-abos/mvv-semesterticket/index.html
How long is my student ID valid as a ticket and how is the beginning and the end of the semester defined?
Your student ID is valid as a ticket from the first to the last day of that semester. The exact dates of the beginning and end of the semester are set by your individual university. In other words, your student ID qualifies as a ticket for the entire duration of the semester as defined by your university. The exact time period varies between universities. Please enquire at the university you are matriculated at, e.g. on its website. At the TUM, for example, the winter semester lasts from 1st October – 31st March and the summer semester from 1st April – 30th September.
A student ID for several semesters (“plastic card”) must be validated each semester.
Is the introduction of a semester ticket within the rights of the Munich Student Union?
The Munich Student Union did not simply introduce the ticket - it did so by request of the students. This means that a majority of students chose to vote for the semester ticket to be introduced. The idea to introduce the semester ticket also originated from student circles; and the Munich Student Union is, in accordance with Bavarian university regulations, obligated to introduce and implement such a ticket. The student ballot showed that most students support the concept of solidarity regarding the semester ticket. The result of the vote was rather one-sided:
www.semesterticket-muenchen.de/abstimmung-2012/ergebnisse/ (only German version)
Why exactly was a model chosen that consists of a compulsory basic fee and an optional upgrade?
The current concept of the ticket is the result of careful consideration and many negotiations: During this phase, it was assessed under which circumstances the semester ticket is worthwhile, as well as the travel times for which the basic fee could be relevant. This two-part model benefits students who rarely use public transport and therefore do not buy an IsarCard Semester.
Under what circumstances can I become exempt from paying the solidarity fee?
Only severely disabled persons can apply for exemption from this fee if they are in possession of a pass entitling them to travel on public transport free of charge (including the corresponding certification by the Office for Families and Social Affairs/Amt für Familie und Soziales). The solidarity fee is collected by the universities and transferred to the Munich Student Union. However, the Munich Student Union does not keep the money, but passes it on to the public transport companies. The legal basis for the collection of the solidarity fee is the matriculation agreement, to which you as a student are bound. For further clarification, please contact your university.
I am in possession of an ID card for the severely disabled - how can I apply for exemption from the solidarity fee?
Students who are in possession of a pass entitling them to travel on public transport free of charge (including the corresponding certification by the Office for Families and Social Affairs/Amt für Familie und Soziales) can apply for exemption from the solidarity fee. The application must be handed in to the university you will be matriculating or re-registering at before the fee is due (i.e. before the re-registration deadline). Detailed information on this subject can be found on your university’s website, or you can refer directly to the people in charge at your university.
If my IsarCard Semester is lost or stolen, will it be replaced?
If you lose your IsarCard Semester ticket, the customer service centres of the MVV will give you a one-time replacement in exchange for the receipt received when you purchased your ticket and an administration fee of 5 euros (7 euros at DB travel centres).
So, remember to always keep your receipt safe and separate from your IsarCard Semester ticket. Without the receipt, you will not be granted a new ticket.
What happens if I leave university during the semester?
If you are taken from your university’s register (backdated to the beginning of the semester), you will lose your student status. In order to receive a refund for the solidarity fee, you will have to return your student ID to the university.
An already purchased IsarCard Semester, however, cannot be returned or exchanged during the semester, and without your student ID it will no longer be valid.
So please be sure you will be matriculated for the entire semester before buying an IsarCard Semester.
What happens if I change to a different university during the semester?
If you have already purchased an IsarCard Semester, you have to get it re-printed, as it still bears the number of your previous student ID.
If you purchased your ticket at the MVG, you can have it re-printed in the Service Centre; you will have to bring along the following documents:
- de-registration previous university
- matriculation new university & (if possible) student ID
- valid semester ticket (IsarCard Semester)
Please note that your ticket can only be replaced at the MVG customer service centres at Hauptbahnhof or Marienplatz, and only if it was purchased at an MVG ticket machine. Please remember to ask for confirmation that your ticket was replaced, as the receipt for your previous ticket still has your old matriculation number on it. If you were to lose your new ticket, a replacement without confirmation would not be possible.
More answers to your questions concerning the semester-ticket can be found here: