Berlin City Guide

Page 15

Berlin City Guide

Public Transportation

Berlin is proud of its public transportation which is swift, efficient and reliable. It is possible to go

almost everywhere in the city and the suburbs by either bus, tram, U-Bahn or S-Bahn.

Despite reunification in 1990, Berlin still has two centres (West Centre and Mitte, or East Centre).

Most international flights will land at Tegel Airport, which is on the west side. The quickest link into

the West Centre from Tegel by public transport is a 15 minute bus ride (the X109 bus), which will

drop passengers at Zoo Station in West Centre. Since most of the historic sights are in the East

Centre (Mitte), it is advisable to join sight-seeing tours which start in West Centre and also go to

Berlin-Mitte.

If you have some time get on bus No. 100 – it passes most of the interesting sites of both the East

and West centres of Berlin.

Public Transportation in the Berlin Area

The U-Bahn (underground), bus and tram network are run by the BVG

(Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe.

The S-Bahn network (urban railway) is run by the VBB

(Verkehrsverbund Berlin Brandenburg).

Only one ticket is needed for travelling into the surrounding areas (e.g. Brandenburg) although they

are run by different transport service providers. The zones in and around Berlin are defined as

follows:

Sub-area A:

Berliner S-Bahn-Ring

Sub-area B:

The boundary of Berlin

Sub-area C:

The surrounding area of Berlin

The sub-area is divided into 8 portions, each belonging to an administrative district. The area of

Potsdam-Mittelmark

is included in the city district of Potsdam.

A Short Trip Ticket can be used for

3 stations by S- or U-Bahn or for 6 stops by bus or tram, valid

for 2 hours after having been validated. Apart from individual journey tickets, special offers, e.g. a

WelcomeCard (for 72 hours for an adult and up to three children) can also be obtained.

U-Bahn and S-Bahn

U-Bahn and S-Bahn tickets can be obtained from the ticket machines on the platform or from the

ticket sales points directly in the underground stations. Most tickets require validation. Ticket

validating machines are yellow.

Tram

Tram tickets can be purchased from machines in the trams. These machines only sell single

tickets.

Bus

Bus tickets can be purchased from the bus driver. Tickets purchased on the bus are already

validated. Ticket validator machines for tickets which have not yet been stamped are available on

the bus near the entrance.

Ferry

With a BVG-ticket it is possible to travel on six ferry routes which are operated on commission for

the BVG. Bicycles can be taken on all ferries.