Vienna’s public transportation is:
- 5 subway line (U-Bahn);
- 30 streetcar routes;
- over 100 bus routes.
Vienna’s subway, bus and streetcar fleets are owned by Wiener Stadtwerke AG, whose sole shareholder is the city municipality. The official website where you can find all the latest information about municipal transportation in the Austrian capital: https://www.wienerlinien.at.
Tickets and passes in Vienna
In Vienna, the fare does not depend on the mode of transportation, but depends on the type of ticket and the travel area. The price is the same for metro, streetcar and bus.
The entire city is divided into zones. If you plan to travel within one zone, you need one ticket for one trip. If you need to travel from one zone to another, you need to buy and validate 2 tickets at once. Those who plan to visit only the tourist center of the city, you do not need to think about zones: the whole center belongs to one zone #100.
- A ticket for one trip costs 2.4 €. With this ticket you can make transfers in one direction.
- Children’s ticket for children from 6 to 15 years old is 1,2 €.
- A day ticket is 5.8 €. It can be used an unlimited number of times until 01.00 the following day, regardless of the composting time.
- A 24-hour pass is 8 €. It allows you to use public transportation unlimitedly for 24 hours from the moment of composting.
- A 48-hour pass is €14.1.
- A 72-hour ticket is €17.1.
- A weekly pass is €17.1. Valid from Monday until 9am the following Monday.
How to buy public transportation tickets in Vienna
There are several ways to purchase tickets:
- Online on the carrier’s website
- Vending machines at subway stations and some streetcar stops.
- OEBB Mobile App.
- Cigarette and press kiosks — tabaktrafik.
- Wiener Linien kiosks, which are only open on weekdays.
- On streetcars and buses, you can buy a ticket for 1 ride from the driver by paying 0.2 € extra to the base price.
Vienna Metro
The Vienna Metro is represented by 5 lines: U1, U2, U3, U4 and U6. Line U5 is not included in the numbering, as its construction has not yet begun. All lines except U6 connect different districts of the city with the city center.
The metro starts working from 5 a.m. and ends at midnight. On weekends and public holidays, the metro is open 24 hours a day.
There are no turnstiles in the Vienna subway and tickets must be punched at composters when entering the subway. The fine for a fare evasion is 100 €.
The schedule and subway layout are available on the carrier’s official website.
City buses in Vienna
Buses, unlike Vienna’s streetcars, can enter the historic part of the city. They run from 5 a.m. to midnight, numbered with the letters A or B. In addition to the daytime services, there are 20 night buses, numbered with the letter N. The interval of the night buses is half an hour, from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. The night buses run from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m.
Buses in Vienna run exactly according to the timetable on the official website of the carrier under the Buslinien tabs.
Vienna streetcars
Vienna’s streetcar network is the longest in the world. Its history dates back to the end of the 19th century. The radial streetcar routes have a numerical designation (1—71), while the diametric routes are designated by letters (so far, these are routes O and D).
For streetcar routes and timetables, see the Straßenbahn tab on the carrier’s website.
Tourists are particularly interested in two streetcar routes: No. 1 and No. 2. These routes run along Ringstrasse, the ring street of Vienna’s Inner City, along the grand facades of Vienna’s palaces: the main sights of the capital’s center can be seen without leaving the carriage.
City bike rental in Vienna
There is a Citybike bike rental service in the city, which can even be used by tourists. All you have to do is register for 1 € on the website or at the terminal in the bike parking lot. When registering, you need to provide your bank card.
Bicycle rental allows you to rent a bike for 60 minutes for free. The second hour costs 1 €, the third hour costs 2 €, and from the fourth hour you will pay 4 € each.
The bicycle must be returned to one of the city’s bicycle parking lots. After 15 minutes from the first hour, you can rent your bike again for another hour free of charge, and so on indefinitely.
Vienna’s tourist streetcar and buses
In 2009, the Vienna Ring Tram was launched for tourists. It makes a circuit around the famous Ringstrasse.
- Hours of operation of the tourist streetcar: 10.00 — 17.30, interval of movement — 30 minutes.
- One ride on the Vienna Ring Tram costs €10 for an adult, €5 for a child from 3 to 15 years old, and children under 3 years old are free.
The streetcar departs and arrives at one stop — Schwedenplatz. The streetcar has an audio guide in 8 languages, including Russian. There is no disembarkation during the ride and the streetcar tour lasts half an hour.
You can buy a ticket for the tourist streetcar on the official website.
If the Viennese streetcar is unique, the hop on hop off tourist buses work the same as everywhere else. You can get off at any stop, walk around and get back on the bus for which you bought your season ticket. There are audio guides on the bus.
There are three kinds of these buses running around Vienna:
- Big Bus Vienna's red buses,
- Yellow Vienna Sightseeing buses with 4 different routes,
- Red and white Red Bus City Tours buses with three routes.
The cost of a tour bus ticket depends on the number of days: an adult ticket for 1 day will cost 29 €, for two days — 35 €, and for 3 days — 49 €.
