Subscription VBB-fahrCard

If you have already taken out a subscription, a new card will automatically be sent to you after the previous chip card expires (usually after 4 years). In the case of personal subscriptions, we may ask you to submit a new photograph required for issuance.

If you purchase a subscription, you will receive the VBB-fahrCard by mail or in person at a customer service center before the contract begins. If you would like to sign up for a personal subscription, please submit a current photograph along with the subscription application (Exception: Deutschlandticket application). This will be applied to your personal VBB-fahrCard.

If you are entitled to a special ticket such as the senior citizen ticket or the student ticket, please also provide us with proof. You may need to update your ticket every year.

The photo is an integral part of the personal VBB-fahrCard. Please submit a professionally photographed 45 x 35 mm picture in portrait format.

If you want to use another photo, it must meet the following standards:

• Format:
  45 mm x 35 mm in portrait format, the face height must be 32 to 36 mm.
  The face must be imaged from the tip of the chin to the hairline.
  The face must be centered.
   
• Sharpness and contrast:
  The face must be sharp, rich in contrast, and clear.
   
• Illumination:
  The face must be evenly lit.
   
• Background:
  The background must have a contrast to the person and be monochrome, preferably neutral gray. It may not contain patterns or shadows.

In regional trains as well as in S-Bahns, U-bahns and trams, please show your VBB-fahrCard to the ticket controllers who will electronically scan your card.

On buses with a control unit at entrance, please hold your VBB-fahrCard directly over the scanner for about one second. Scanners can be recognized by the eTicket symbol. The ticket is valid when the scanner’s light signal blinks and the machine beeps.

Should you lose your VBB-fahrCard or should it be stolen, you will receive a new VBB-fahrCard from S-Bahn Berlin. It’s imperative that the old VBB-fahrCard is blocked by us without further delay.

You can do this by calling +49 30 297-43555, or in person at a customer service center.

As a rule, a fee of 10 euros will be charged for the new card. If the chip card has been lost due to a criminal offence or force majeure and this has been reported to the police or insurance company, no replacement fee will be charged upon proof (notification).

If you possess a personalized VBB-fahrCard, it is important that you submit us a new photo as soon as possible so we can send you a new card.

Please handle your VBB-fahrCard with care. Should you damage it by laminating, hole-punching, bending, breaking, etc., you will be charged a replacement fee of 10 euros.

If you would like to change your fare product or your fare zone, you just need to present your VBB-fahrCard in one of our customer centers by the 10th calendar day of the current month. A customer representative will immediately process a new electronic ticket for your VBB-fahrCard. This will then be valid from the following month. In return, the previous ticket will be cancelled.

Interns and school students or their guardians should change their tickets when they move or change schools, for example. If you reside in Brandenburg, please contact the school administration office or the responsible transportation company.

Unless your VBB-fahrCard could not be read during the check, the ticket inspector or, if necessary, the bus driver will hand you over an inspection document as an evidence, that your VBB-fahrCard has been controlled.

You must buy a ticket from the bus driver on the bus. In all other means of transportation, you may complete your journey in the same vehicle.

Be sure to keep inspection document in a safe place where they can be referred to at any time.

Please present your unreadable VBB-fahrCard and the inspection document to S-Bahn Berlin GmbH within 7 days after the receipt. If there is a valid contract, you will receive a new VBB-fahrCard. In the case of a personal chip-card, please immediately submit a new photo to the S-Bahn Berlin GmbH in order to receive a new VBB-fahrCard as soon as possible. Until the receipt of the new VBB-fahrCard we ask you to buy paper tickets. You will be reimbursed for the costs of all paper tickets used during this period within the validity of your VBB-fahrCard, if you submit these together with the inspection document and as long as you are not responsible for the unreadability of your VBB-fahrCard.If there is an evidence, that you are responsible for the unreadability or if you did not hold a valid ticket at the time and place of inspection, you may be charged a higher fare and the fee for re-issuing the VBB-fahrCard.

The transportation and tariff conditions and regulations of the VBB apply.

The PV system only stores pseudonymized data. For location of transaction, it enters the location of the company selling the ticket. If the ticket is purchased in Berlin, this location is simply Berlin – not the passenger's place of residence. During a ticket stop, the time and place of this inspection as well as the product and device number are recorded as proof of the ticket’s check and validity. This information is then transmitted to the PV system.

When S-Bahn Berlin issues a VBB fahrCard (e.g. in conjunction with the "Deutschland-Ticket"), it stores data related to the purchase and billing – like the passenger's name, address, or banking details – in its subscription management system.

For transferable tickets, the product, the region and fare covered, the ticket’s validity (time and geographic coverage) and the card number are stored on the VBB-fahrCard chip.

Personal (non-transferable) tickets also store an encrypted version of the passenger’s first name and surname (only the first and last letters are readable) and, where applicable, the year of birth on the electronic ticket. In some cases, a photo and the first and last name are also printed on the card.

In addition, the following, access-protected data is stored on the chip card: the ticket number and the number of the issuing transport company as well as the passenger’s date of birth (where applicable). The legal framework for this is art. 6 para. 1 f) of the DSGVO. The respective rights of those affected are ensured.

Ticket inspectors check the ticket’s validity (time and geographic coverage) as well as the passenger’s name. This information is recorded in the chip card’s log. If a ticket check leads to the chip card being blocked, this will also be recorded on the chip card. Such a block also writes the line and journey’s identification numbers into the corresponding data record.

Proof of inspection data is deleted from the PV system once all checks have been carried out and nothing unusual has been found. Some basic data tied to the check remains on the chip card. The storage of these inspection transactions on the chip card is required for consumer protection. It allows the passenger to see the last transactions made with his or her chip card.

This form of data processing is considered acceptable by the supervisory authorities responsible for privacy and data protection. Passengers can delete entries in their chip card’s log at any time at one of the information terminals located at all S-Bahn customer centers as well as the Ostkreuz ticket office. Automatic storage tops out at ten transaction logs, which are then overwritten by the latest entry (ring memory).

Passengers can access the entries on their chip card at any time, e.g. using the free "eTicket.app" as long as their mobile device supports NFC.  In addition, all S-Bahn customer centers have information terminals that can display the last 10 transaction records.