Free with the VG Card: Students can travel through Western Pomerania from September!

Free with the VG Card: Students can travel through Western Pomerania from September!

From September 1, 2025, students in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district will have a reason to be happy: they can travel on regional trains for free with the VG Card. This was made possible by a cooperation agreement between the district and well-known railway companies such as Deutsche Bahn, ODEG, VMV and DTVG. A great way to explore the surrounding area or easily get to school.

The affected routes that students can use are divided as follows: The RE 3 connects Greifswald with Pasewalk, the RE 4 runs from Strasburg (Uckermark) via Pasewalk to the Ueckermünde city harbor. In addition, the RB 23, which connects Züssow, Zinnowitz and the Ahlbeck border with Świnoujście Centrum, as well as the RB 24 from Zinnowitz to Peenemünde and the RE 10 between Greifswald and Pasewalk are available. This gives students a wide choice of routes to get to school or to their free time.

Investment and demand

The district is investing an impressive 580,000 euros in this initiative to make train travel attractive for students. In the 2024/2025 school year, around 570,000 euros were already spent on train journeys for around 620 students. The total cost of tickets for all students with a VG card amounts to an impressive 1,151,551 euros. There are currently around 14,250 VG cards in circulation in the district, a number that has been growing steadily since their introduction in February 2024 - more than 5,250 new cards have already been issued.

The decision for free train travel was made by a district council resolution on July 7, 2025 and is intended to help relieve the burden on families with school-age children. While many federal states are still discussing introducing similar models, Western Pomerania-Greifswald stands as a positive example. A comparison shows that in other regions of Germany, such as Berlin, students have been able to use public transport for free since August 2023. Here, the so-called zero euro ticket was introduced by the red-red-green government faction to support families.

A step into the future

The future of the VG card promises to make things easier for students and their parents in the district. Demand is already showing an increasing trend and proves that there is a real need for such offers. These innovative approaches not only enrich student life, but also contribute to environmentally friendly mobility. There is great hope that other districts will adopt the Vorpommern-Greifswald model and also develop similar solutions for their students. The basic idea is clear: Schools and leisure activities love that students are easily mobile.