Save Money on City Transit Passes

Taking advantage of transportation passes in Europe can often save money, even if you’re in a city for only a short time. Although many cities offer some sort of savings, the programs are not always promoted in the United States.

Vienna, for example, has a 72-hour transit pass that allows unlimited use of subway lines, streetcars and buses. The cost is 92 schillings (about $7.50 U.S.). A single ticket is 19 schillings, so the pass will save you money if you plan to use it at least five times.

Salzburg offers a 24-hour pass (36 schillings) that offers unlimited travel on bus and trolley lines in addition to the funicular to Hohensalzburg Fortress.

Join a Club

Innsbruck has a one-day pass for 50 schillings, good on streetcar and bus lines.

If you stay in the city for three consecutive nights or longer, you automatically become a member of Club Innsbruck at no charge. Membership includes daily bus service to the city’s five skiing/hiking areas, admission to various events staged by the club, and reductions on admissions to museums, tennis courts, golf courses and the zoo.

Also, discounts are given for panorama flights over the Alps. Get the Club Innsbruck card through your hotel.

In Munich you can buy a 24-hour ticket that offers unlimited travel on subways, streetcars and buses. The cost is 6.50 marks (about $3.60 U.S.). Another 24-hour card costing 12 marks covers suburban rail lines.

Hotels in the Garmisch/Partenkirchen area, which has the highest mountains in West Germany, include a visitor’s card for the price of a room.

The card provides unlimited use of bus service, cable cars and mountain railways as well as free or reduced rates to various attractions. You’ll also get insurance covering accidents, disability or death.

Time on city transit passes in these Austrian and German cities is calculated from the pass’s first use, not from time of purchase. Also, the passes must be obtained in Austria and West Germany, not in the United States.

For more information, contact the Austrian National Tourist Office at (213) 477-3332 or the German National Tourist Office at (213) 688-7332.