If laid out in a single line, Berlin’s train and tram tracks would stretch from Berlin to the Zugspitze mountain in the Alps. When there’s no train or tram heading where they want to go, Berlin residents catch a bus or ferry.

Two companies operate the majority of Berlin’s public transportation services. The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) is responsible for 10 underground trains, 22 tram lines, 154 bus lines and 6 ferries. The S-Bahn Berlin GmbH operates 16 commuter train services. Both companies – together with about 40 other transportation burg – are members of the Verkehrs­verbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB) transportation network.

When you buy a ticket, it’s valid on all public transport services in the VBB network. The VBB network is divided into hexagon-shaped units of the same size. The city of Berlin and the surrounding region are organized into three tariff zones: Zone A covers the inner city, including the S-Bahn ring; Zone B goes to Berlin’s border and Zone C reaches another 15 km into the region, including Potsdam. You can buy tickets for the combined zones AB, BC or ABC, as needed. With an AB ticket, you can travel through­out Berlin for two hours (in one direction only).

You can find detailed information about tickets and prices at bvg.de, s-bahn-berlin.de plus vbb.de.

Public transport contacts

BVG – Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe

BVG Call Center  
Mo-So 7 bis 23 Uhr 
›› Tel. 030/19 449, www.bvg.de

BVG customer service 
›› Mitte, Holzmarktstr. 15, Mo-Mi. 9.30-17.00/ Do 9.30-17.45/ Fr 9.30-14.00 
›› Mitte, U-Bhf. Alexanderplatz, Zwischendeck, Mo-Fr 6.30-21.30, Sa-So 10.00-18.00  
›› Spandau, U-Bhf. Rathaus Spandau,  Mo-Fr 6.30-20.30 
›› Köpenick, S-Bahnhof, Elcknerplatz 1, Mo-Fr 6.30-20.30, Sa 10.00-18.00  
›› Marzahn, Busbahnhof, Mo-Fr 6.30-20.30 
›› Tiergarten, U-Bhf. Zoologischer Garten, Mo-Fr 6.30-21.30, Sa-So 10.00-18.00  
›› Alt-Tegel, U-Bahnhof, Berliner Straße 1a, Mo-Fr 10.00-18.00  

BVG Abo-Service  
In all BVG customer centers. 

BVG lost property 
Friedrichshain, Rudolfstr. 1-8,  
Mo, Di, Fr 9.00-18.00, Do 9.00-20.00,  
Tel. 030/19 449

S-Bahn Berlin

S-Bahn call center
Tel. 030/297-433 33, www.s-bahn-berlin.de

S-Bahn customer service
›› Customer service at S-Bahnhof Ostbahnhof, Friedrichshain, Koppenstr. 3, Mo-Fr 08.00-20.00, Sa & So 09.00-18.30
›› Customer centers with season ticket service at many S-Bahn stations.

Lost property  
42103 Wuppertal, Döppersberg 37,  
Hotline: 0 900/199 05 99

VBB – Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg

VBB call center 
Tel. 030/25 41 41 41, Mo-Fr 8.00-20.00, 
Sa-So 9.00-18.00, www.vbb.de 

VBB-Infocenter  
Public transport helpdesk.
›› Charlottenburg, Hardenbergplatz 2, 10. Etage, Öffnungszeiten: Mo-Fr 8.00-20.00, Sa & So 9.00-18.00

Buying tickets
Tickets can be bought at BVG and S-Bahn sales points, in travel shops and from ticket machines in subway and train stations as well as from many newspaper kiosks in Berlin. Tickets can also be bought in all the VBB customer centers. Smart phone users can also get key tickets on their phones. 

Smart phone tickets can also be bought via the VBB app.

© NEW IN THE CITY

If you plan to take a long or short trip outside Berlin and don’t want to be behind the wheel of a car, then head for the city’s central train station, one of Europe’s biggest and most modern rail hubs. Every day, 300,000 travelers stream into the relatively new station, located where the Lehrter station stood until 2006. Every 90 seconds, they board trains heading in all directions.

The station is impressive because of its large capacity and also for its looks.

The station was designed by Meinhard von Gerkan and is spacious and flooded with light. A 321-m glass hall runs from east to west and is crossed in a north-south direction by the station concourse, which is 160 m long and 40 m wide.

›› Berlin central station

© Günter Wicker, Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH

After a record-breaking construction period of 14 years with delays caused by building scandals and costs going through the roof, the Berlin-Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport officially opened on October 31, 2020.

Up to 46 million passengers per year could be taking off and landing in the three terminals 1, 2 and 5 – if it wasn’t for the coronavirus. The pandemic means that flight operations will initially only take place in Terminals 1 and 5. Terminal 1 alone has capacity for up to 28 million passengers. Terminal 5 is the former Schoenefeld Airport. It’s located a short distance from the main airport complex and is connected to Terminal 1 by S-Bahn and bus.

Despite low passenger numbers in 2020, the airport is looking optimistically to the future. The construction of Terminals 3 and 4 is scheduled to be finished by 2035, increasing the airport’s capacity to up to 58 million passengers.

The best place to get a good overview of Berlin’s new airport and at the same time experience a little wanderlust is on the visitors' terrace in Terminal 1. A ticket can be booked online for € 3. Also in Terminal 1, it's worth looking up at the ceiling to admire the huge red flying carpet made of metal mesh. The Magic Carpet, which was created by Californian artist Pae White, is one of five works of art that can be discovered at the airport depicting the theme “air-land.”

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