Using underground and tramway to get from your hotel to the conference

The most efficient way to get from your hotel to the conference and vice versa is to use the public transport system of Vienna. The means of transport operate on short intervals and you will reach your destination in Vienna quickly. Read our guide on public transport in Vienna to get more information.

Vienna Public Transport

Vienna has a dense and extensive public transport network. It consists of an underground (called "U-Bahn"), tramways (typical Viennese call it "Bim") and buses operated by the Vienna Transport Authority. Additionally there is a metro railway network (called "S-Bahn" or "Schnellbahn") run by the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB, which reaches out to the vicinity of Vienna.

General Informations

The public transport in vienna and its surroundings are integrated into a single public transport network called VOR, the short form for Verkehrsverbund Ost Region. The Wiener Linien (Vienna Transport Authority), which are the operator of the public transport system of Vienna, are part of this network.

The whole network is subdivided into zones. The fare of a trip is calculated by the number of zones the route passes. Therefore you need only a single ticket if you use the public transport in Vienna and its vicinity.

The core zone of the VOR network is Vienna. For all trips within Vienna you have to pay only the fare for one zone.

A trip must lead straight to the destination without any stopovers. You are allowed to change the means of transport as you like. The waiting periods during the change of means of transport do not count as stopovers. You can use the online route planner of the Vienna Transport Authority or the VOR to calculate the optimal route of your trip.

The fare for one adult within one zone is 2.10 € if you buy it in advance or 2.20 € if you buy it at a ticket machine in a bus or tram (you need change for the exact amount of the fare because these ticket machines do not give change).

The Schnellbahn S7 passes 2 zones along its way from the Vienna International Airport to Vienna. The fare is therefore 4.20 €, if you buy the ticket in advance. The ticket is then valid all the way from the airport to your hotel or vice versa.

Validation of your ticket

You have to validate your ticket once by punching the ticket with the blue ticket validators, which are installed in buses and trams as well as at the barriers of the entrance areas to the underground and Schnellbahn. This has to be done right when you enter the means of transport or right when you enter the entrance area of the underground and Schnellbahn. If you combine tickets, then this has to be done for all of the tickets.

If you are using a stripe ticket, you punch your ticket as follows: The stripes on the ticket are consecutively numbered. Always validate the stripes beginning at number 1 in ascendending order by folding the ticket at the edge of a stripe. If you want to punch more than one stripe (e. g. if you go through more than one zone), fold the ticket after the adequate number of stripes and punch only the stripe with the highest number.

Keep in mind that there are no ticket machines in the underground and Schnellbahn in contrast to busses and trams. In that case you must have purchased and validated your ticket before you enter the means of transport.

Note: Within the VOR network there are conductors and civil controllers on the way and if you get caught without a valid ticket you have to pay a significant fine.

Where can I get a ticket?

All tickets except the ticket for a single trip can only be purchased in advance. These tickets are available at the ticket machines, which are positioned at the underground and Schnellbahn stations, at the ticket agencies of the Vienna Transport Authority and in Vienna they are also available at tobacconists.

Tickets for a single trip can also be purchased at a slightly higher price in buses and trams. These ticket machines do not give change and you need change for the exact amount of the fare.

The Vienna Card is not available at ticket machines. If you want to make use of the reduction of the fare for the airport transfer by CAT or airport bus, you have to buy it at a travel agency at the departure building of the airport, at the Vienna Airport Lines or order it online in advance.