Cheap tickets boost public transport use in Germany

BERLIN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Germany saw a 10 percent year-on-year increase in passengers on local public transport in the first half of this year, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Thursday.

A subsidized local transport ticket costing 49 euros (51.94 U.S. dollars) per month, introduced across the country earlier this year, boosted passengers to almost 5.3 billion, Destatis said.