A ruling by the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main has determined that Deutsche Bahn Fernverkehr AG cannot mandate customers to provide email addresses or mobile phone numbers when purchasing Sparpreis (Saver Fare) and Super-Sparpreistickets.
The court’s decision, issued Friday, found that the data processing practice violates the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) because the collection of this personal information is deemed unnecessary for the performance of the contract – namely, the transportation service.
Until December 2024, Deutsche Bahn had required the provision of these details for the purchase of these discounted tickets, even when bought at ticket counters. The court viewed this practice not as voluntary consent from customers, but as an unacceptable form of coercion. The court’s reasoning focused on the fact that the digital ticket format serves primarily internal company purposes, such as advertising and customer retention and not the core function of passenger transport.
The ruling is legally binding and directly affects the distribution of these competitively priced train tickets. The judges emphasized that companies must enable access to their services using as few personal data points as possible.