Buying and validating tickets, period of validity
A ticket can be bought on any means of transport directly, at the railway station or from a conductor. Because some tickets can only be bought in advance and are not available on the means of transport directly, it pays to be informed.
Where to buy tickets
- Single hourly passes and 24-hour passes are available in every vehicle / in every train* and at every railway station (* except for regional trains on the lines Mürzzuschlag – Graz – Spielfeld/Straß, Mürzzuschlag – Bruck/Mur – Neumarkt and Bruck/Mur – Selzthal – Radstadt)
- 10-zone tickets must be bought in advance, e.g. in tobacconist shops, at staffed railway stations and at the Mobility Centre in Graz
- Weekly and monthly passes are available at all staffed railway stations and in all regional buses but also at Mobil Zentral; half-year and annual passes at the GVB-Mobility Centre in Graz and at MVG-Travel services in Kapfenberg
- Ticket machines are available at numerous railway stations. These machines do not only sell many types of tickets for the Transport Association but also other railway tickets for all of Austria. Important: If a railway station has no counters or none is open, buy your ticket from the ticket machine. This way, you save the € 3.00 surcharge that is payable if you buy the ticket from a conductor.
When and where to validate tickets
- Various ticket blocks can be bought in all urban means of public transport and from in advance from various sources. These tickets must be validated by the ticket holder. Only after validation are the tickets valid.
- Tickets bought at railway station counters, at ticket machines or from conductors and in regional buses do not need to be validated and are usually immediately.
- When using a 10-zone ticket, you need to know the number of zones you need to travel to arrive at your destination and validate the ticket accordingly. To find out how many zones you must travel, use the zone plan, the posted list of destinations at railway stations or ask the bus driver.
How long are tickets valid?
- Hourly tickets are valid once they have been purchased and 10-zone tickets are valid for one (for one zone) to five hours (for 20 and more zones). The end of the validity period is printed on tickets from the ticket printing machine; if you validate tickets using the validator, you need to calculate the period of validity yourself.
- 24-hour passes are valid for 24 hours from purchase or validation.
- Weekly/monthly/half-year/annual passes are valid for seven days/one month/six months/twelve months respectively, from 0.00 o’clock of the first day of validity or purchase/validation to 12 pm of the last day of validity. It is up to the ticket holder to decide the first day of validity.
- Important: If a direct trip takes longer than the validity period provides perhaps due to changes in the timetable, you may continue to travel to your destination even after the validity period has expired. In case of an inspection, the passenger must provide proof to the inspector’s office for the causes of overextending the validity period within three days.
See also