Your ultimate guide to Vienna’s public transport

Navigate Vienna effortlessly with our comprehensive guide to the city's public transport, covering everything from trams and metro to tickets and apps.

Ivandzhelin

5 minute read

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25 Sep 2023

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Living

Vienna's public transport system (Öffis) offers an efficient and budget-friendly way to navigate the city. It operates within a single zone, called Zone 100 or Kernzone and seamlessly connects you to every corner of the capital through the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, Badner Bahn, trams, and buses.

For newcomers, navigating this extensive system can be overwhelming. To make it easier, we've crafted a user-friendly guide that provides information on available public transport options, ticket prices, and convenient maps to simplify your city exploration.

Public transport here is quite affordable, aligning with Vienna’s overall cost of living. You can choose between buying a single ticket or purchasing one of the many passes the city offers.

Public transport tickets in Vienna

If you don’t travel regularly, you can buy one of the following public transportation tickets in Vienna:

• Single ticket (Einzelfahrschein) for €2.40 allows you to make one journey within Vienna's public transport system.
• Day ticket (1 Tag Wien) for €5.80 grants you unlimited travel within Vienna's core zone for a full day.
• 24/48/72-hour ticket (24/48/72 Stunden Wien) provides unlimited travel for a specified period from the moment of validation.

Public transport passes in Vienna

Vienna offers various public transportation passes for frequent travellers, including weekly, monthly, and annual passes. Students can take advantage of discounted semester tickets during their academic months and a separate summer holidays monthly pass for the non-academic period.

Here’s a breakdown of the public transportation passes in Vienna:

• Weekly pass (Wochenkarte) for €17.10 allows unlimited 7-day travel, starting on your chosen day when bought online or from Monday to the following Monday at 9 a.m. when purchased offline.
• Monthly pass (Monatskarte) for €51 is valid from the 1st to the 2nd day of the following month.
• Annual pass (Jahreskarte) for €365 upfront or €396 monthly is valid from the 1st day of the following month.
• Student semester pass (Semesterkarte) for €75 covers one semester of public transport in Vienna.
• Summer holidays monthly pass (*Ferien-Monatskarte) for €29 is valid for July and August during the summer break.

All passes provide unlimited journeys on all public transport within Vienna's core zone, including suburban trains (ÖBB) and WLB-operated services.

Where can I buy public transportation tickets in Vienna?

You can purchase Vienna tickets at main station ticket offices, station ticket machines, the Wiener Linien online store or app, and Trafik newsagents/tobacconists. Trams have ticket machines onboard, but they require coins.

Remember to validate paper tickets by inserting them into the yellow or orange slots found on trams and buses, or U-Bahn and S-Bahn station entrances.

Navigating a new city's public transport is a breeze with Vienna's 3 public transport apps:

• WienMobil: With WienMobil you can buy tickets or add your public transport pass, and find up-to-date information about all transport in Vienna, including public transport, bike paths, and car-sharing services.
• Moveit: The app provides you with real-time information on bus, tram, subway, and train schedules and walking routes, as well as detailed directions for reaching specific destinations using public transport.
• Wegfinder: Wegfinder provides route planning and navigation for public transportation throughout Austria. You can easily search for and plan journeys using various modes of public transport, including trains, trams, buses, and subways.

If you want to be extra secure that you'll reach your destination in time, you can plan your journey online to see which lines you need to take.

©Map courtesy of Gnlpfth12, Source: Wikimedia Commons

Vienna's U-Bahn is a highly efficient and dependable subway system that plays a pivotal role in the city's transportation network. The Vienna metro system comprises 5 linescovering the city centre and its surrounding areas:

• U1 (red) Links north and south, Leopoldau to Reumannplatz.
• U2 (purple) Circles the city centre, Stadion to Karlsplatz.
• U3 (orange) Passes through central sights, northwest to southeast.
• U4 (green) Connects north to west, Heiligendtadt to Hütteldorf.
• U6 (brown) Runs suburban north and south areas.

With 109 stations in total, Vienna's U-Bahn allows easy transfers to other metro lines, buses, or trams. Trains depart every 5 minutes, with higher frequency during peak hours (2–4 minutes) and reduced service after 8:30 p.m. (7–8 minutes).

Metro operating hours:

• Monday-Sunday: 5 a.m. to 12 a.m.

The S-Bahn in Vienna is a suburban railway network that connects the city with its surrounding regions. The network consists of 10 lines that extend beyond the city limits, reaching neighbouring towns and regions in Lower Austria. Vienna's S-Bahn is operated by Austria’s national railways (ÖBB), but you can use your tickets or passes for the Vienna core zone.

Depending on the line, the times and frequency of the trains vary. As a rule of thumb, an S-Bahn train comes at least every 10–15 mins.

Train operating hours:

• Monday-Sunday: 5 a.m. to 12 a.m.

To make sure you don't miss your train, check the ÖBB rail schedule online.

Vienna features a robust tram network with 28 lines spanning the city and its surroundings, ranking as the world’s 6th longest tram system. This means you can conveniently travel from residential areas to bustling commercial districts using trams alone.

Tram operating hours:

• Monday-Sunday: 5 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Trams run every 4-8 minutes throughout the day.

Tip: For easy commute to work, university or the center, explore rental homes in Vienna that are next to a tram stop.

Vienna’s bus network of over 130 bus lines runs from the city centre to the residential areas. You can easily spot the bus you need by its name, represented by a digit and the letter A or B. Buses in Vienna come every 5–10 minutes during the day and every 15–30 minutes at night.

Bus operating hours:

• Monday-Sunday: 5 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Vienna also has a line of 26 night buses (marked with an 'N') which operate from 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m. throughout the week and come every 30–60 mins. You can use your normal public transportation tickets for the night buses.

Vienna has an excellent public transport system, making it one of Austria's top cities. To get around, use the subway (U-Bahn) for longer trips and trams or buses for smaller streets. Vienna also has many cycling paths, and you can easily rent bikes from services like SwapFiets and ListNRide. If you live in the suburbs, the Badner Bahn and S-Bahn are reliable choices for commuting, offering more stops outside the city centre.

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