Getting Around In Vienna
Austria’s capital city offers a well-developed and impressive public transport infrastructure which includes buses, trains, trams and underground trains, which between them, cover most of the city. Wiener Linien, the primary company providing services, runs 80 bus and 31 tram lines (21 of which are night services), and five underground lines; it has a fleet comprising of 500 buses and 600 tramcars. A single ticket can be purchased which allows users to take any of the services available across a selection of different zones.
By metro
The Vienna metro, or U-Bahn as it is otherwise known, is comprised of five lines, the larger part of which run underground and can be identified by the prefix ‘U’ plus a number, for example, U1, U2, U3, U4 and U6. All lines connect with the S-Bahn suburban metro railway network. Transport is speedy and a large number of key destinations are served.
By train
The S-Bahn is a rail system operated by the ÖBB (federal railways) which provides connections across the city and to destinations beyond the city limits.
There are many branches to the system’s network, with the majority meeting in the city centre at the Stammstrecke, or main line. Some services only operate every 30 minutes or every hour; however, if you travel via the Stammstrecke, services are more frequent.
By bus
The city operates a total of 80 different bus routes, providing coverage to many areas. Services are frequent and almost always punctual, and fares are reasonably priced. For more information, visit the city’s official webpage relating to public transport: http://www.wien.gv.at/english/transportation/publictrans.htm
Taxis
Taxis are available in Vienna, although the need for their services is not as great as in other cities on account of the efficiency of the public transportation system. If however, you need to get somewhere in a hurry or you have a lot of luggage, then you are best calling a taxi from one of the many companies operating in the city such as Flughafentaxi Neudeck (tel: +43 1 334 3100), Lucerna Taxi (tel: +43 1 667 0310), Moland Taxi (tel: +43 1 208 3828) and Nordpol Taxi (tel: +43 1 332 4380).
From the airport
From the airport, you can take the City Airport Train or the public bus; both of which connect with the city’s U-Bahn and S-Bahn rail systems, allowing for easy transfers to almost anywhere in the city.