Public Transportation in Germany

[thegermantruth]

You have decided to spend your vacation time in Germany. You reserved your plane and hotel, now you need to figure out how you will get around on your trip. You can always rent a car but it may be costly and you are an inexperienced driver in Europe. Now you need to learn more about public transportation.

Once you arrive in Germany, if you are American, you will notice that the German public transportation system is much more efficient and cost effective than that of America.  There are many more options and for the most part, you can get anywhere any time. Keep in mind that you can purchase a train ticket from your current location to your destination and this ticket is valid for the train, bus and street car. ie.  Take a train from Darmstadt to Hanau then use the same ticket for a bus from Hanau to Frankfurt.

Taxi Cab: Taxi cabs can be found around any airport or public location. If you walk up to a taxi parking area and there is a row of taxi cabs go to the front vehicle first. The price varies but can be expensive at times. The weekend taxi fees are generally more expensive than the fees on a weekday.  If you can avoid using a taxi cab I would recommend it. If you are relatively pleased with the service provided by the cab driver a one or two EUR tip would be sufficient.

Street Cars (Trolley): Street cars were the first mode of public transportation in Germany. Street cars make frequent stops and have a map layout of each stop. Check the route and be sure the stop you want is close enough to your destination, if not you may want to take the U/S Bahn, a bus or a taxi. Street cars are relatively fast, about the same speed as a normal car in the city.

Train: The European rail system is set up to be a very cost effective and efficient means for international European travel. With a vast number of inner-city trains running constantly during the day, the German train system is just as effective. When entering a train station (Bahnhof) you will need to purchase a ticket from the machine. You can only buy a train ticket with EUR but you can use any denomination below 20 including coins or bills. Simply select your destination from the list shown, enter the destination number and push the ‘Einzelfahrt’ button. Your change will fall along with your ticket to the tray. If you are planning to travel by train from Frankfurt to Paris, for example, you may choose to use the ICE train. This train is designed to get you from point A to point B much faster than a normal train. ICE trains are a little more expensive but may be the smart way to travel if you are planning inter-country travel in Europe.

U/S-Bahn: The U or S Bahn would be the equivalent to the subway in the States.  The U-Bahn covers city areas where as the S-Bahn covers city areas and up to 60 kilometers outside the city. Normally you will only find U/S Bahns in bigger cities. The U/S Bahn normally makes more stops than trolleys making them the smarter choice for inner city travel.

You can also purchase an all day ticket which is good for trolleys, buses and the U/S-Bahn by pressing the Tageskarte button instead of the Einzelfahrt button. It is possible to board the train or trolley without purchasing a ticket but you will be fined 60 EUR minimum and these checks do occur regularly. You can purchase train tickets online from the official homepage of Deutsche Bahn at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

[Hope]

One thing that is not mentioned is that this most Germans actually use their public transportation. The people are generally friendly to everyone and about 90% speak english. The public transportation is usually always On Time. They do not wait around like the US systems tend to do. They are also very reliable. The buses, trollies and trains are clean and safe even for single woman.

I lived in Augsburg, Germany for two years when I was younger. I never drove over there because the speeds scared me. I took the train all over the country. I used the trollies in town for shopping and other activities. I used cabs a lot also. That biggest culture shock for me was that cabs are Mercedes Benz.

If you are traveling to Germany, I would suggest you only rent a car for the day you want to try out the autobahn. Everyone wants to say they drove it. Most tourist locations have train stations near them.

[Tushar acharya]

German public transports are very reliable,punctual and uses latest technology.Germans are having more human value.I like it.

[dojo]

I have visited Munich 5 months ago ... I was shocked to see how nice everything is going in their transportation. Nothing is out of order, everything is on time, it's clean and precise. Loved this. Will make sure I'll get back

[Apollo]

The situation in China is disaster. Taxi is dirty and slow. Train is always overcrowded and ticket is always sold out when its your turn to buy it after standing in a long line.

[Andy]

Sorry to hear that Apollo but hopefully the situation changes with time.

Isn't it a problem of everybody converging on the city? Not so much a problem with the infrastructure?

China has progressed so fast so soon so there will be this transition period of chaos.

[Jeanne]

I can't really say that useing bus in Germany is cheap.When I want to go in town and back I allready pay around 6 euro.And if you go with Taxi one way cost 25 euro.
And also our bus is not hight frequended when I go with it sometimes I am all allone.
But I really miss it.

Here in Belarus its always croweded.But fortunatally its cheap and clean.

[Hope]

It is interesting to hear about the different situations of public transportation in different areas. I know that the Metro trains here in the DC area are very clean. You are not permitted to eat or drink in the subway. You get fined pretty heavily if you do. The taxi are very expensive here. The buses are clean as well.