Germany
In Germany, the helpUkraine ticket is available for those who recently (<10 days, usually) entered the EU / came to Germany, and are in need of direct onward travel. For more info about the helpUkraine ticket, see below.
Public transport in Berlin
Once one is registered and has already interacted with the Jobcenter (and will receive Berliner Pass at some point), one could issue a Berlin Ticket S for EUR 27,50 per month. Details.
Note: you can already issue it before the Berlin Pass arrived, if you have a Leistungsbescheid already.
Paying Tickets - local, long distance
When a helpUkraine ticket is not an option, help is often needed with navigating the Reisezentrum or the DB ticketing machine. When supporting, make aware of the following points:
- Existence of slow, but cheaper options using only regional trains (e.g. Quer-Durchs-Land Ticket, regional offers) → Only if the person is capable of many train changes etc
- Pricing system with Deutsche Bahn: book earlier → pay less. Also: difference of Sparpreise, Flexpreise, etc
- Can a ticket be cancelled (depends on the tariff, please explain it)?
- Other options besides DB: FlixBus/Flixtrain, other bus companies
Places to buy tickets at HBF:
- Human counter: Reisezentrum (OG1): possibly long waiting times, but ability to buy more connections also into other countries (e.g. certain routes in Poland)
- Ticket Machine (near DB Infopoints, in front of RZ): faster, but you have to know what you are doing. Cash and card possible
Free helpUkraine Ticket
HelpUkraine tickets are for the first arrival and further travel of refugees inside Germany. In Berlin, they are handed out in UG 1 nearby ROSSMANN (counter open 09:00 - 22:00). Requires some sort of document (Passport) and proof at what time a person entered EU / Germany, as they’ll check…
- Only possible to book to destinations within Germany (changed mid October)
- Require documents to be checked by the staff at the counter (contracted via DRK)
- Includes animals
- Valid on every train at the day of travel and the next between start and destination
Other Countries
Like Germany,Free many other European countries offer free transport for people fleeing Ukraine. The difficulty is to find ways how one could combine the German HelpUkraine ticket with offers from other countries.
🦺 Volunteers at the Reisezentrum are specialist for each country and are regularly updated on news about tickets to other countries. Please consult them when dealing with tickets for refugees.
| Country | Support | Description | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
Denmark | Yes | ||
Austria | Yes | ||
Switzerland | Yes | ||
France | Yes | ||
Netherlands | Yes | On first entry, on NS trains (ticket at counter on first change in NL) | |
Belgium | Yes | ||
Germany | Yes | On first entry, with helpUkraine ticket | |
Poland | No |