Bahns savings price tickets: Data protection officer warns of exclusion!

Bahns savings price tickets: Data protection officer warns of exclusion!

Deutsche Bahn is currently facing sharp criticism of data protection officers, although it wants to go into the digital world increasingly. The central problem? The new savings price tickets from the railway require that buyers have to provide personal data such as mobile phone numbers or email addresses, even if they purchase the tickets at the counter. This could become a serious obstacle for many travelers.

Alexander Roßnagel, the Hessian State Data Protection Officer, has sharply criticized the rail procedure. "The digitization strategy of the railway is not very considerate of people who are data protection -conscious or little technology -savvy," he emphasized in an interview. This statement aims at the fact that people are excluded from discounted trips without access to a smartphone or the Internet. In fact, not all citizens in Germany are able to book online, which raises the question of access to affordable tickets.

data protection concerns

Roßnagel has emphasized that not only people without technical means, but also consumers who place special value on their data protection are disadvantaged. "The railway does not collect the lowest possible number of data, but the data interesting for you," he said, making it clear that the collection of personal data was not justified. In his opinion, an individualization of a ticket could also be done without the compulsory specification of a mobile number or email address.

The criticism is reinforced by the fact that, although it indicates that over 90 percent of its customers book online, the railway still leaves millions of people on the way. "The company is responsible," says Roßnagel. The dependence on digital channels becomes particularly critical, since this not only complicates access to cheap tickets, but also questions the privacy of the users.

The position of Deutsche Bahn

A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn rejected the allegations and justified the data collection. "We would like to inform our travelers about their journey, for example when changing tracks or delays," she said. The railway therefore needs a contact to inform travelers about this critical information. The data collected would only be used to transmit tickets and provide relevant information to improve the travel experience.

The railway emphasizes that she wants to assist its customers at digitization. The employees in the travel centers and at telephone customer service are trained comprehensively to facilitate the transition to the digital world.

Overall, it can be seen that Deutsche Bahn operates in a area of tension between digital transformation and the protection of its customers' privacy. While digital accessibility can be an advantage for many travelers, the question remains whether it can also meet the needs of all customers. For more information and details on this topic, a look at the comprehensive reporting on www.sueddeutsche.de .