Göttingen-D190911-Day 014

Monday and business as usual. I was out to the main station today hoping that I can "somehow" convert the Bahncard 25 I bought (trial) to the standard version for students. And nope, you can't.

Now if you're a student in Germany, you will have what is known as a semesterticket. For students here (Goettingen), it would be stated on your student ID the validity of use. And starting next year, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) would be the only state that requires students to pay taxes and tuition fees. Given the high costs of studying here, it's funny how the semesterticket only applies for slow trains! The semesterticket would usually encompass all major transportations (other universities in Germany) like the metro (which we have none), buses, tram (also none) and trains. Then again this would be decided by the local student council and probably a little bit (or alot) of politics. I believe something around €80 is deducted per semester for the semesterticket. 

And the semesterticket is rather stupid because there are so many major restrictions like you can only take the slower trains such as the Metronom or DB Regio Nord. You CANNOT even use normal IC (intercity) trains! I just don't get it. Eighty euros is a lot. Yeah sure, for the semester, and only slow trains (not even buses). Who comes up with the math anyway. Eighty freaking euros. I'd have to go Hamburg more than a couple of times to make that money back. The perks however is that because Göttingen is located in the Lower Saxony region, you can travel within this region for I would imagine, as much as you like. If you happen to have families within the province, then sure, the eighty probably isn't much. I would even go back every weekend.

The exclusion of the bus puzzles me though. Yeah we all should have a bicycle and yeah it's a small city and no we won't be using it that much. But the bus rides aren't cheap here. At €2 per hour for rides within the city, the damage is usually for students with their heavy suitcases wanting to get back. Who the hell wants to pay €2 for an hour of rides?! I just want to pay the few cents that is equal to my ride to the station (or vice versa)!