Student referendum on semester ticket
In the summer semester 2026, a student referendum on the semester ticket was put to a vote at Universität Würzburg. The question was whether the validity area of the semester ticket should be extended to cover the entire area of the new transport association NVM – that is, additionally the city of Schweinfurt and the districts of Schweinfurt, Haßberge, Rhön-Grabfeld and Bad Kissingen – and what the maximum cost of this extension should be. Two referendums with price limits of €10 and €20 per person were put to a vote.
The texts of both student referendums and their justifications are documented here in full wording, and frequently asked questions are summarised.
Student referendum 1: "Semester ticket: expansion of validity area – 1"
Question: Do you agree with the following statement?
The area in which the semester ticket is valid as a ticket in public transport should be expanded. It should also include the city of Schweinfurt, as well as the districts of Schweinfurt, Haßberge, Rhön-Grabfeld and Bad Kissingen. For this purpose, the price of the semester ticket may be increased once by up to €10 per person. This increase would then apply permanently to the semester ticket.
Students at Universität Würzburg have a solidarity semester ticket, which currently (summer semester 2026) costs €110.10. This ticket is valid for public transport in the city of Würzburg and the districts of Würzburg, Kitzingen and Main-Spessart.
As of 01.01.2025, the former transport association VVM was replaced by the new transport association NVM. This means that tickets in the new association area are generally also possible for the districts of Schweinfurt, Haßberge, Rhön-Grabfeld and Bad Kissingen and the city of Schweinfurt.
We must decide whether the semester ticket should also receive this expansion. Then students at Universität Würzburg can use public transport with their semester ticket additionally in these areas as well.
If this student referendum is answered in the majority with "Yes", this objective will be pursued from now on in negotiations, as long as the additional costs for the semester ticket are a maximum of €10 more per person. This increased amount will then also apply to all subsequent semester tickets and may not be increased (apart from tariff adjustments). If the student referendum is answered in the majority with "No", this means that the scope of validity should not be expanded, unless the expansion were free of charge.
Student referendum 2: "Semester ticket: expansion of validity area – 2"
Question: Do you agree with the following statement?
The area in which the semester ticket is valid as a ticket in public transport should be expanded. It should also include the city of Schweinfurt, as well as the districts of Schweinfurt, Haßberge, Rhön-Grabfeld and Bad Kissingen. For this purpose, the price of the semester ticket may be increased once by up to €20 per person. This increase would then apply permanently to the semester ticket.
In contrast to the previous student referendum (Semester ticket: Expansion of validity area – 1), the statement here is that an expansion is desired even if the price is increased by up to €20.
Students at Universität Würzburg have a solidarity semester ticket, which currently (summer semester 2026) costs €110.10. This ticket is valid for public transport in the city of Würzburg and the districts of Würzburg, Kitzingen and Main-Spessart. As of 01.01.2025, the former transport association VVM was replaced by the new transport association NVM. This means that tickets in the new association area are generally also available for the districts of Schweinfurt, Haßberge, Rhön-Grabfeld and Bad Kissingen and the city of Schweinfurt. We must decide whether the semester ticket should also receive this expansion. Then students at Universität Würzburg can use public transport with their semester ticket additionally in these areas as well.
If this student referendum is answered in the majority with "Yes", this objective will be pursued from now on in negotiations, as long as the additional costs for the semester ticket do not exceed €20 more per person. This increased amount will then also apply to all subsequent semester tickets, but may not be increased (apart from tariff adjustments). If the student referendum is answered in the majority with "No", the result of the previous student referendum (Semester ticket: Expansion of validity area – 1) continues to apply.
Questions and answers
On the question of how expensive an expansion of the validity area of the semester ticket should be at most. Two decisions present price limits of €10 and €20 respectively for selection.
In addition to the city of Würzburg and the districts of Würzburg, Main-Spessart and Kitzingen, the semester ticket would also be valid in the city of Schweinfurt and the districts of Schweinfurt, Bad Kissingen, Haßberge and Rhön-Grabfeld.
Until the submission deadline for the student referendum, no offer from the NVM was available. Therefore, the Department formulated two realistic prices based on student housing data and usage figures from the transport survey, and is advocating for the most cost-effective solution possible.
In each of the two decisions you can vote for or against a price limit: Decision 1 concerns an extension for a maximum of €10 per semester. Decision 2 gives the Department the option to also accept up to €20 price increase if an agreement up to €10 is not possible.
The Department of Mobility then speaks out against a paid expansion of the scope in the negotiations. The continuation of the semester ticket itself is not subject to a vote.
Approve decision 1, reject decision 2.
Agree to both decisions.
Reject both decisions.
In January 2025, the previous transport association VVM was replaced by the NVM with a significantly larger association area, and tickets were extended to cover the larger region. Since then, there has been discussion about whether the semester ticket should also have a larger area of validity; furthermore, a uniform semester ticket for the two higher education locations Würzburg and Schweinfurt is desired.
The increase for the expansion is a one-off payment and remains in place in the following semesters. In addition, further increases may be added in subsequent years through normal pay rises.
The usual price developments in public transport: rising personnel costs, fuel prices and expenditure on repairs and new vehicles change the average costs per kilometre travelled and are passed on to the ticketing systems.
€108.00 for summer semester 2026 and €110.10 for winter semester 2026/27.
The earlier expansions to include the districts of Kitzingen (2009) and Main-Spessart (2014) were inexpensive at around €0.50 per semester each. A transport survey by the NVM in 2022–2023 found that students used public transport in these districts more intensively than expected, particularly on rail routes. The transport companies therefore negotiated a price increase following expert recommendation. Since the only alternative would have been to terminate the semester ticket, the Department of Mobility agreed in consultation with the Student Parliament.
The semester ticket is a solidarity model: all students pay the same amount, regardless of usage. This gives transport companies reliable income, and only because of this can the ticket be offered cheaply to everyone.
According to a court ruling, a solidarity ticket may cost at most 60 % of the Germany ticket price. Because students in Bavaria can obtain the Bavarian Reduced-Price Ticket, the NVM would have to offer such a ticket very cheaply, which is not in the interest of the transport companies.
Without a semester ticket, students who do not regularly purchase a Germany ticket but want to use public transport in the previous area would have to pay more. The future of the Germany ticket is politically determined and more uncertain. The semester ticket contractually secures services such as a certain frequency on the bus lines towards Hubland and gives Student representation a basis for having a say in bus lines and timetables.
Public transport use in the new areas without an additional ticket – relevant for students from these districts and for internships there. Furthermore, the connection between the two THWS locations would be possible with the semester ticket.
The new areas are quite far from Würzburg; presumably many students would pay more without regularly using the additional services.
The semester contribution is paid to the Student Services every semester and consists of the Student Services contribution and the semester ticket contribution. Further information is available from the Student Services Würzburg (https://www.swerk-wue.de/ueber-uns/semesterbeitrag-wofuer-eigentlich).