Frankfurt public transport – How to travel around Frankfurt

One thing I like a lot about Germany is that it has a very good public transportation system. Basically everywhere (including small towns or villages) is more or less reachable with public transportation. Yet it can indeed be a bit confusing for people who are not familiar with the system as it can be quite different from other countries. But don’t worry! This article is going to help you to use Frankfurt public transport at ease.

Types of Frankfurt Public Transport

1. Bicycle share/e-scooter

Frankfurt is a very bicycle friendly city. There are bicycle lanes specifically marked out for cyclists. Since Frankfurt is quite small, commuting or just going somewhere by bike is quite convenient. Many of my expat friends bought bikes here either at bike shops or flea market. Even if you don‘t own one, you can use the rental bike services which work the same way as the e-scooters elsewhere. Sign up in the app, scan the code, unlock the bike and you are ready to go!

2. Tram/bus

I am not a big fan of taking tram or bus as they are usually slow, not so frequent and tend to take longer routes than necessary. However, they are an essential part of Frankfurt public transport. They can be very helpful when you have to reach somewhere more remote or where there are just simply no U-Bahn or S-Bahn stations nearby.

3. U-Bahn/ S-Bahn

When I first came to Germany, I was very confused about the differences between U-bahn and S-Bahn. Supposedly, U-Bahn is the equivalent to underground and S-Bahn is more like regional train. But to be honest, they both go over- and underground as well as short and long distance in Frankfurt. The boundaries are really blurred. U-Bahn is run by RMV in Hesse, the Frankfurt public transport operator. S-Bahn by Deutsche Bahn, which is famous for delays and cancelled trains. It can be quite a nightmare if you can only take one S-Bahn line which comes every 15 min only and it gets cancelled while next one is very likely delayed as well.

4. Regional trains (RB or RE)

When I first to came to Frankfurt as a student, I used to travel a lot around in Hessen or RMV area with RB or RE. They are slow trains but pass by many small towns or villages. Sometimes, you can also take them to travel inside Frankfurt, usually between the three train stations- Ostbahnhof (east), Südbahnhof (south), Hautbahnhof (main) and Frankfurt airport.

5. IC/ICE

IC and ICE are the high speed and longer distance trains. IC is the predecessor of ICE. It is a bit slower: the official data says while ICE can run up to 230km/h or 330km/h dependent on the train types, IC can run only up to 200km/h. As a result, ICE tickets are also more expensive.

Frankfurt public transport ticket types

1. Student/semester ticket

Students have options to buy the student ticket or so called semester ticket. The ticket is valid for one semester. You shall get the bill from your university to pay for the “semester fee” which includes the cost of student ticket already. The semester ticket is usually very cheap in comparison to monthly tickets and usually covers the entire state rail area (however, the specifics depend on in which state or city you are). It is not transferable.

2. Standard tickets

If you don’t have access to job or student tickets, you will have to settle for standard tickets. As long as you go on more than one journey, a day ticket is recommended. This is because a day ticket in Frankfurt is cheaper than two single tickets (one return trip) and more flexible.

Tickets with a longer duration, i.e. weekly, monthly and yearly tickets allow you to take another person along. This applies on weekdays after 7 pm, on the weekend and on public holidays.

Yearly tickets are available both as personal and as freely transferrable tickets.

3. Job ticket

A lot of companies sponsor a part of or even the whole cost of the job ticket for their employees. The process is: the companies make deals with the local transportation and buy the tickets from them for us and they deduct the part of the cost we bear from our salary. Job ticket is relatively cheaper than yearly ticket but is not transferable.

4. Group tickets

If you are travelling as a group, you might be able to get a great deal on group tickets. There is a number of different group tickets available for different occasions.

Gruppentageskarte

A “Gruppentageskarte” is an option if you are only using local Frankfurt public transport (S-Bahn, U-Bahn, bus, tram, RE and RB). The ticket is valid for up to 5 people. For return journeys, it pays off for groups of three or more.

Hessen ticket

The “Hessenticket” is a special group ticket for traveling in the state of Hesse. The ticket is valid for up to five people for unlimited journeys in Hessen. You can use all forms of local transportation but not IC or ICE. If you don’t have BahnCard, the ticket generally starts paying off from three people.

Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket

The “Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket” is a ticket offered by Deutsche Bahn. It is valid for up to five people. With the ticket, you can travel unlimited journeys on local transportation. IC and ICE are unfortunately not included. It is a bit more expensive than Hessenticket, so it is only suitable if you are traveling across states. As with the HessenTicket, the “Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket” pays off for three or more people.

5. Bahncard

Bahncard is a travel discount card for all trains run by Deustche Bahn. Many local train operators also offer discounts for BahnCard owners. There are three types of Bahncard: Bahncard 25, Bahncard 50 and Bahncard 100, which give you as the name suggested, 25%, 50% and 100% discount respectively. But be aware that with the Bahncard 50, if you buy already on sale tickets or the tickets with Sparpreise, there will be 25% discount only.

If you are 27 or younger, you are eligible for MyBahnCard, which is significantly cheaper. Once you buy the Bahncard, it will last for one year and then renewed automatically every year unless you quit 3 months before the expiry. There is also trial Bahncard, which will last for 3 months. However, it will also get renewed if you don‘t cancel it in time.

How to buy Frankfurt public transport tickets:

1. local transportation app:

This is the app that I definitely recommend to download. For anyone live in Hessen, the app is „RMV“. Not only can you check your live connection details, you can also buy tickets via the app. You should however consider that mobile tickets are not transferable.

2. Deutsche Bahn (DB) app:

When I buy normal tickets, I always use the DB app. It is pretty convenient, you just need to remember to adjust your settings sometimes regarding the number of Bahncard you hold or the number of passengers. If you buy the tickets through DB website or physically, you can still load the ticket number to your phone. You just need to show the QR code (and Bahncard if you use it) to the ticket controller when you are in the train.

3. Deutsche Bahn office:

Yes, the very old-fashion way of buying tickets still exists. And I will never recommend it. The waiting time to talk to a staff in the DB office can make you very frustrated. But if you are first time in Germany and not sure about how to buy a Bahncard, this might still be worth considered.

4. Ticket machine:

The ticket machine can be a bit complicated and not as convenient as the apps. I personally only use it to buy special tickets like group tickets or the tickets I can‘t get with apps. This is a disadvantage of DB app. For the tickets for some regional trains that go somewhere very close by, you can only buy the tickets for immediate departure with the app or sometimes the tickets are just not available in the app.

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