1. Eligible passengers

• The VBN mobility guarantee is open to passengers who have used a valid single or time-based ticket in the VBN fare schedule for a journey within the VBN area.
  Exceptions to this rule:
  • TIM – THE YOUNG SEASON TICKET, if issued by schools (the previous Pupils’CollectiveTime)
  • Youth-LeisureTicket
  • VBN-SemesterTicket
  • BikeTicket
  • NightOwls tickets (NachtEule Ammerland)
  • Tickets of Lower Saxony Fares
• Notwithstanding the above, the VBN mobility guarantee also applies – initially until 31 December 2023 – to passengers who have used a valid Deutschland-Ticket for a journey within the VBN area.
• How the ticket was purchased is irrelevant when it comes to eligibility. In the VBN area, tickets may be purchased through booking offices, from the crew, at ticket machines, using the BOB card or via smartphone (MobileTicket, BOB app, Fairtiq, DB-Navigator).
• Applicants must be at least 15 years of age and have IBAN bank details. Applications for persons under 15 are lodged by guardians or legal representatives.
• The VBN guarantee does not apply to accompanying passengers travelling as part of a rule for accompanying passengers.
   

2.    Delayed? Requirements for a claim

• The VBN mobility guarantee can be used in the event of cancelled or delayed trips resulting in arrival at the final destination being more than 20 minutes late.
• The VBN mobility guarantee applies to direct trips, as well as to trips involving stops. It takes effect when a connection is missed, resulting in an over-20-minute delay in arriving at a final destination.
• The reason for the cancellations or delays is irrelevant.
• Cases are assessed based on the schedule times available via FahrPlaner (fahrplaner.de or the FahrPlaner app), not printed timetables, such as timetable brochures or timetables displayed on signboards.
• Guarantee claims can also be lodged for planned or unplanned deviations from the normal schedule (e.g. in the event of construction work, inclement weather or strikes) if these have not been advised at least 24 hours beforehand on FahrPlaner. 
   

3.    Reimbursement amounts

The reimbursement amount depends on whether a SingleTicket or a TimeTicket has been used, and what the price level is for the relevant route. The VBN mobility guarantee expressly applies to all SingleTickets, DayTickets or TimeTickets listed below. Holders of tickets not mentioned below will not receive any reimbursement.

SINGLETICKETS

TIMETICKETS

Extension Tickets are reimbursed at a flat rate of 1.90 euros (adults) and 1.40 euros (children). First Class Surcharges are reimbursed at a flat rate of 1.40 euros. One of the aforementioned reimbursable base tickets is required for this.
 

4. Further conditions

• Compensation is limited to a maximum of two trips per day and ten trips per calendar month per claimant (in the case of transferable time-based tickets, per time-based ticket).
• The amount reimbursed is limited to the value of the SingleTicket or time-based ticket in question. Passengers with Deutschland-Ticket, MonthlyTicket (as well as City Ticket and Seniors'MonthlyTicket), MIA, MIAPLUS, JobTicket and TIM receive the amount paid for the month in question at most. Passengers with a 7-DayTicket receive the value of the ticket in question at most.
   

5.    Reimbursement of taxi costs

In the following cases, passengers are entitled to reimbursement of taxi costs up to a maximum amount of 25 euros:

• A chosen route was delayed or cancelled, resulting in the expectation of there being at least a 60-minute delay in arriving at the final destination, or of not making it at all.
• In the time between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am, the destination would have been reached with a delay of more than 30 minutes or not at all. 
• For wheelchair users: In the event of a defective boarding aid and an expected delay of more than 20 minutes at the destination.

Please note:
In order for taxi costs to be reimbursed, you will always have to provide original copies of any SingleTicket used for the journey in question, as well as the taxi receipt. TimeTickets do not need to be submitted. If there is an alternative means of travel with which the destination can be reached with less than the stated delay, the passenger will not be entitled to the reimbursement of taxi costs.
 

6. Application

You can submit your claim in one of the following ways:

• Online guarantee form (only available in German):
  https://www.vbn.de/service/mobilitaetsgarantie/garantieformular
   
• By post only using the flyer form:
  Verkehrsverbund Bremen/Niedersachsen GmbH
  - Servicecenter -
  Am Wall 165 – 167
  28195 Bremen

• In person at the aforementioned service centre or one of the BSAG, BREMERHAVEN BUS, Delbus or VWG customer centres.

The following documents must be submitted:

• Online application or completed form
• The ticket used
• Online application: image file, scan or PDF of the ticket or purchase confirmation
• Paper application: The original SingleTicket or a copy of the TimeTicket
• The original taxi receipt

The following deadlines must be adhered to:

• Applications must be lodged within 7 days. The lodgement period begins on the day following the event.
• Applications are assessed within 14 days of reaching the VBN, in the order in which they are received.
• Reimbursements are paid out exclusively via bank transfer. Payments are generally made at the middle and end of the month, though this may differ in exceptional cases.
   

7.    Abuse/Guarantee Exclusion

The VBN Mobility Guarantee is a voluntary service by the VBN for its passengers. There is no legal obligation to provide for such a guarantee. The VBN reserves the right to exclude passengers from compensation in the event of misuse of the guarantee. The passenger will receive a notification if the examination of the declared warranty claim reveals that incorrect information has been provided. In the event of repeatedly incorrect and incomprehensible information, the customer will receive a notification of exclusion from the VBN mobility guarantee. The exclusion may be for 3, 6, 12, 18 or 24 months. In serious cases or in the event of attempted fraud, exclusion may be indefinite.
Invoking the legal regulations regarding railway passenger rights is only permitted as an alternative. If you are found to have made a double claim, this will be classed as attempted fraud.

Instead of the VBN mobility guarantee, passengers can also invoke the legal regulations regarding railway passenger rights. For more information on this, visit https://www.vbn.de/en/service/passenger-rights
Lodging double claims for reimbursement under both the VBN mobility guarantee and the legal regulations for passenger rights is not permitted.

We have summarised the differences between the VBN mobility guarantee and the passenger rights for you below.