Getting Around Vienna
Vienna has a large public transportation network, which includes the S-Bahn, the U-Bahn, local railways (Lokalbahn Wien-Baden), buses and trams.
The S-Bahn and U-Bahn make up Vienna's rapid transit (Metro) system. The U-Bahn consists of 5 lines mostly running underground, also that the U6 partly uses the track of the old Vienna Stadtbahn, and is therefore mostly overground.
Vienna has an extensive tram network, one of the largest in the world. Vienna's Ultra Low Floor trams, designed by Porsche and built by Siemens, boast an entry height of 180 mm (7 inches), the lowest in the world.
About 150 of these vehicles are currently in use on Vienna's tram network, along with around 400 older high-floor models.
Vienna also has a large number of bus routes. As all routes in densely populated areas operated at dense intervals, even during off-peak hours, it is usually not necessary to remember the time when the train or bus goes. Public transportation is thus used quite a lot.
The Viennese public transport is connected to services of train and bus lines operating 50 kilometers into the surrounding countryside, which can be used under the same system of tickets.
Public transportation mostly closes during night hours, but there is a special bus service, the Nightline, operating on the most important routes. However, most of these buses run only every 30 minutes. Vienna uses an "honor system." There are no gates or ticket checks when boarding transit lines, but ticket checks will occur, oftentimes by undercover employees.
