Transport and the shape of the city in Berlin

Tickets and zones

BVG runs the U-Bahn, trams and buses; S-Bahn Berlin runs the suburban rail; one fare system covers all of them across zones A, B and C. Most of the city is AB; C reaches Potsdam and BER airport. The nationwide Deutschlandticket, a monthly subscription valid on all local and regional public transport across Germany, is cheaper than a Berlin AB monthly pass and is what most residents now hold.

• Deutschlandticket: one monthly subscription, valid on regional transport nationwide.
• Paper tickets must be validated in the yellow or red box before boarding.
• Employers often subsidise a Firmenticket — ask before subscribing yourself.

The network in practice

The U-Bahn and S-Bahn between them cover the city densely, trams dominate the eastern districts and buses fill the west. Services run through the night on U-Bahn and S-Bahn at weekends, with night buses on other nights following the same routes. Berlin's distances are large, so a fifteen-minute journey on the map is often forty door to door — check the real journey time before signing a lease across town from work.

Cycling and cars

The city is flat and cycling is normal all year, with expanding protected lanes and heavy bike traffic on the main corridors. Lights and a working bell are legally required and enforced, and bike theft is common enough that a good lock is a real investment. Cars are less necessary than in most German cities; residents in the inner districts need a Anwohnerparkausweis from their district office, and a low-emission zone covers the area inside the S-Bahn ring, requiring an emissions sticker on the windscreen.

• Umweltplakette emissions sticker required inside the S-Bahn ring.
• Anwohnerparkausweis is issued by the Bezirksamt for your registered address.
• Foreign driving licences may need exchanging after a period of residence — check the deadline early.

BER and getting out

Berlin Brandenburg airport sits in zone C, roughly forty to fifty minutes from the centre by the FEX express or S-Bahn line, so an ABC ticket or an extension to your pass is needed. Long-distance trains from Hauptbahnhof reach Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, Prague and Warsaw directly. Regional trains make the Brandenburg lakes an easy weekend, and they are included in the Deutschlandticket.