A Guide to the Metro in Vienna

You have finally touched down at the Vienna Airport after a long flight and just want to get to your hotel for a quick nap – but how do you use the metro system in this new country? 

Fortunately for Austrian visitors, the metro system – and the public transportation system as a whole – is very easy and efficient throughout nearly the entire country. The same goes for the Austrian capital – Vienna is home to various kinds of transportation options, like the metro, bus, train, car sharing, and plenty of bicycles flooding the beautiful streets.

If you are new to living in Vienna, or are just visiting for a few days, we have a quick guide to the metro system so you can easily get from point A to point B with as little stress as possible.

The Vienna S-Bahn


 

Karte S Bahn Wien – By By Maximilian Dörrbecker (Chumwa) – Own work using: OpenStreetMap data for the background, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63498699

The U-Bahn, short for ‘Untergrundbahn’, is one of the main metro systems for Vienna, Austria. The second system of the Vienna metro is the S-Bahn, a suburban rail network that goes past the normal city limits. If you are renting a condo in the outskirts of Vienna, like in Neulgengbach, Saint-Polten, Stockerau, Wolkersdorf, Ganserndorf, Wolfsthal, or Nedstadt, then taking the S-Bahn is going to become a common occurrence. Check out this map that shows the S-Bahn network – although this is less commonly used for those staying or living in the city limits of Vienna, it can be a great way to travel into the farther reaches of Austria. 

Vienna U-Bahn

U-Bahn Wien – By U-Bahn_Wien.png: User:My Friendderivative work: Enzinger, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

The U-Bahn is for commuters, visitors, and local residents who live within the city limits of Vienna. Consisting of nearly 52 miles, or 83 kilometres, of track, this system serves 109 stations throughout the Vienna area. One of the best public transport systems in the entire world according to the International Association of Public Transport, more than 1.3 million people use this network every single day. 

U-Bahn services run between 5am and 1am at between 2 and 5-minute intervals during the day up until 8pm. Since late 2010, there has been an addition of a 24-hour service that runs during 15-minute intervals on the weekends and on holiday nights. 

Metro Tickets – Buy One!

Metro de Vienne – By By trams aux fils. – Métro de Vienne, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10661149

The entire public transportation system in Vienna works on an honor system . What does this mean? It means you can technically avoid buying a ticket – if you want to chance the risk of getting caught and paying an extremely heavy fine. 

No station in Vienna has ticket barriers and no permanent ticket checks as you may find in other countries, like the United Kingdom. In countries with formal ticket checks, the ticket must be scanned before getting on the train or when exiting your destination station. However, the honor system in Vienna operates on the basis that everyone buys a ticket before getting on the metro.

Besides being the ethical thing to do, buying a ticket is the only way to avoid getting stuck in a tough situation when a ticket check DOES happen on the metro you are currently riding. There has been plenty instances of hopping on the Vienna metro only to sit down next to someone who is actually a transport authority, staring blankly at him as he asks to see your “Fahrschein.”

Without a Farschein, you will be at the mercy of this undercover ticket agent. Keep in mind, they have heard every possible excuse in the book, so they will most likely not care about you being a tourist, forgetting your money at home, or just needing to go ‘one or two stops.’ 

Travelling without a metro ticket incurs a huge fine, embarrassment on the subway, and potential further issues if you can’t buy a ticket or pay the fine on time. Long story short? Buy a metro ticket.

Furthermore, buying a metro ticket from point A to point B means you can take any type of transportation to get you to the end spot. So if you get off of the metro to transfer to a bus, this ticket is valid the entire duration of your journey. 

Standard Tickets

Vienna U-Bahn ticket validator – By Misc Edit, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

You have the chance to buy your metro ticket from any ticket office in a main station, ticket machines in the less-used stations, the Wiener Linien website, or from newsagents scattered throughout the city. 

If you switch from the tram to the metro, you can purchase a ticket on the tram if you have the proper coins to pay for the ticket without needing any change back. 

Some of these tickets need to be validated in a machine before boarding. You have to validate your ticket by putting it into the yellow slot on the small, blue boxes that have a white arrow pointing to the opening slot. These boxes are found at the entrances to almost all U-Bahn and S-Bahn stations and platforms, making it easy to quickly validate before boarding. 

Ticket Options

Vienna U-Bahn Westbahnhof – By Jorge Láscar from Australia, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Single ticket – This kind of ticket is the most basic one you can buy. A single-trip metro ticket lets you travel between any two points within the city limits of Vienna, letting you take the metro, bus, or any other kind of public transportation option until you reach your end destination.

However, the stipulation with this single-trip ticket is that it must be all at one time without any pause. This means that you can’t buy a one-way ticket to a spot in Vienna, and then take a 4-hour lunch/sightseeing break before continuing your adventure. 

24/48/72 hour card – This ticket is valid for the pre-paid time period and begins as soon as you first validate your ticket. With this ticket, you can go anywhere you like, as many times as you like. This type of ticket could be a great choice for those in the city for a weekend holiday.

8-day network card – This ticket contains eight stripes – once each stripe is stamped, you can travel anywhere in the city until 1am in the morning on the following day. 

This is our basic guide to the metro and public transportation system in Vienna – hopefully next holiday getaway you can use our quick ‘how-to’ article to get around the city efficiently and easily!

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