But the general point is that 49 euros a month to use public transport is dirt cheap and is definitely not a barrier, quite the opposite.
NB if a ticket is 3 euros it means 60/120 euros a month to commute daily without any discounted pass. Obviously, if you use only now and then the 3 euro ticket will be the cheapest option anyway...
It's not that the local pass is cheaper for them, it's that they use the transportation network so little that buying single tickets on demand is cheaper.
Which makes this whole argument kinda pointless.
I think they believe the 49€ ticket is an attempt to try to make driver stop using the car and use the public transport instead. But this isn't exactly the goal here.
even as someone working from home, i go out at least 3-4 times a week, shopping, other errands, events, meet friends. two rides each time adds up to at least 30 rides a month.
3€ per ride only gets you 16 rides before you reach 49€. any semi regular user of public transport will reach that easily.
I.e. 10 rides are just 5 trips
if you have a ride home from work and take some side route to stop at a shopping mall or Kino or so that counts as an additional trip
but someone using it for work daily tends to have more then 42 rides a month not just 10 and that is just for work transit in a 5 work day week
and then this is assuming you only travel in the AB area and not the outer area of Berlin
and there are many (in summer) nice places close by Berlin, some still in the C area some beyond
lastly, it's very convenient, I mean since I don't have a semester ticket anymore I forgot to buy a ticket way to often and just was lucky to never got cought