Do you travel in Europe? Or maybe you live permanently in one of the EU countries? Find out how public transport works in different European countries. In this article you will find information about ticket prices and the method of payment for public transport in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
European cities with the best public transport
The University of California at Berkeley, in cooperation with the consulting company Oliver Wyman Forum, publishes an annual report on urban mobility – Urban Mobility Readiness Index. The statement from 2022 was used to assess public transport networks in selected 60 cities around the world, based on six main indicators:
- integration
- adaptation for the disabled people
- balance
- innovation
- cooperation
- adaptability
The ranking was dominated by European cities with a very well-developed transport infrastructure. The research results present as follows:
- Zurich, Switzerland (2nd place)
- Stockholm, Sweden (3rd place)
- Helsinki, Finland (5th place)
- Oslo, Norway (6th place)
- Paris, France (8th place)
- Berlin, Germany (9th place)
- London, UK (10th place)
- Amsterdam, the Netherlands (11th place)
- Munich, Germany (17th place)
- Milan, Italy (18th place)
- Warsaw, Poland (19th place)
- Barcelona, Spain (21st place)
- Madrid, Spain (26th place)
- Dublin, Ireland (29th place)
Looking at the report on a European scale, Zurich can boast itself as the best public transport. High in the ranking were also the cities of the Northern countries (successively: Stockholm, Helsinki and Oslo). The Polish capital took a glorious 19th place. On the other hand, the worst public transport is in Dublin.
Public transport in France
Anyone who has ever traveled in France, knows that using public transport in this country is very simple. France has a very well organized and integrated network of urban and suburban connections.
France has at its disposal:
- 16 metro lines in Paris, the metro in Marseille and Lyon, as well as the automatic metro in Lille, Rennes and Toulouse;
- city and suburban buses;
- the RER regional train serving the entire Ile-de-France region (257 stations, of which 33 in the capital itself).
Examples of ticket prices for public transport:
| Mode of transportation | Ticket type / price |
| Bus | Bus ticket purchased from the driver (transfer is not possible) – € 2.00Ticket purchased from the machine (with transfer option) – € 1.90 |
| RER / subway | Single ticket in zone 1 – € 1.90 Ticket for 10 journeys – € 14.90 / person Day ticket (24-hour): zone 2-3 → € 27.45 zone 3-4 → € 26.60 zone 1-4, 2-5 → € 14.00 zone 4-5 → € 26.10 all zones → € 30.00 |
Find out more about ticket prices and discounts here
Ticket system – How to buy a ticket?
The RER train is used interchangeably with the metro.
If we travel by these means of transport only within Paris – we do not have to buy separate tickets.
In case if we want to go outside the Paris zone and go, for example, to the Charles de Gaulle airport belonging to zone 5, we have to buy a separate ticket.
Tickets for the RER and metro we can purchase from vending machines located at each metro station or at RATP kiosks. On buses, you can buy a non-transfer ticket directly from the driver.
How to buy metro / RER tickets? Watch the instructional video
Public transport in the Netherlands
The same system of payment applies to all means of public transport in the Netherlands. This is a great simplification for people who have never used public transport in the Netherlands before.
From 2022, the public transport ticketing system is based mainly on chip cards, the so-called OV-chipkaart and OV-pay contactless payments.
This applies to both public and regional transport. In some places you can still buy paper tickets, but in principle they are treated as a single-use chip card.
How does it work?
- OV-chipkaart collects a starting fee (the same price applies everywhere) at the entrance to the bus, tram or metro. The card must be punched immediately after boarding the bus. From that moment, a fee is charged for each kilometer driven, until the card is punched again at leaving the bus. This rule does not apply to single-use paper tickets.
- OV-pay works in exactly the same way, but instead of a chip card, we can use our own payment card, phone or a smart-watch with a pre-loaded card. The fee is debited from your account with a slight delay, usually 1 to 2 days.
Prices of tickets and chip cards for public transport:
| Chip card (anonymous version) | € 7.50 |
| Starting fee for a ride on a chip card | € 1.08 |
| Fee for each kilometer driven (charged every 50m) | € 0.196 (in Amsterdam) |
| Initial chip card top-up | minimum € 4.00 deposit |
| A single ticket | € 3.40 |
Where to buy OV-chipkaart?
- at train stations (information points, NS machines)
- in kiosks, supermarkets, airports
Public transport in Germany
Public transport in individual cities and villages in Germany operates on slightly different principles. However, in some larger agglomerations such as Berlin, Munich or Hamburg, public transport is integrated – the same type of ticket for every available means of public transport (buses, trams, metro, urban rail).
Tickets for public transport in Germany are not the cheapest in Europe.
With the New Year 2023, price increases for the use of collective transport were introduced, motivated by the increase in the costs of electrical energy, fuel and staff maintenance. Some ticket prices have increased by as much as 8%.
Due to the widespread dissatisfaction of citizens, from May 2023 the German government will be introducing an innovative solution. Namely, it is about selling a ticket for € 49.00 for the whole collective transport, the so-called Deutschlandticket. The same tariff will apply to all carriers.
Travelers will not have to wonder which carrier is more profitable for them to buy tickets. A one-time fee of € 49.00 allows unlimited use of public transport, regional trains and domestic buses.
Pre-sale of innovative tickets will start on April 3. Tickets will be valid from May 1. It was initially agreed that the Deutschlandticket will be sold electronically, but some federal states opted for a paper version.
Interestingly! Companies will be able to buy a Deutschlandticket at a promotional price as part of the benefit system for employees.
