[Aachen]

I don't think it's meant to let you replace all car trips you could possibly make with a single 50 euro payment per month.

Nobody in their right mind would, yeah. So they just have to pay for the train if they don't want to buy and maintain and fuel a car for such journeys. Myself, I'd never consider going by car between such well-connected cities, I'd have to drive (can't read a book for those 5 hours) and deal with parking and either rent or borrow a car (or buy, I suppose).

[gerl1ng]

I think the game changer of this ticket is to replace the second or third family car. The few occasions that you actually needed more than one car you could now just do with public transport without a lot of hassle.

Question is if the 600€/annum is cheap enough for people to opt for this. But at least many companies are looking into giving the 49€ ticket at a discount - and that is actually desired from the state as the state also gives the company a discount if they do so.