Public Transport, Innsbruck

The Sightseer is a small, red tourist bus that stops near the main sights in Innsbruck. Once you bought your ticket you can hop on and off this bus as many times as you like. On the sightseer there is a pair of headphones per persons to listen to some information in various languages about the places you see passing by.

Tickets are sold on the bus. You can use this bus free of charge if you have bought an Innsbruck card.

As a small town transport in Innsbruck does not cause big problems.

Connections with buses and city-trains on main routes are well established, except for late hours (esp after midnight); public transport to some remote parts of the town or of surrounding villages can be difficult, keep this in mind when looking for a flat.

Most central locations and universities are in walking distance. Very popular especially among students is biking, Innsbruck has become quite biker-friendly during recent years with many streets having their own biking track. Cheap bikes can be found on university blackboards, in "The Stadtblatt" (weekly free advert newspaper, see below) and via private connections.
Information on the Innsbruck public transport organisation (Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe) with up to date information on connections and prices:

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This has to be one of the most impressive tram rides in the world. Departs from the main railway station and takes around an hour to reach Fulpmes, journey up through the mountains with fantastic scenery.
Cost (01/11) = 9euro return.
Enjoyed.

Innsbruck does only have a bus and tramway network to get around the city. No underground ;-) You can buy bus or tram tickets on the bus/tram itself from the driver OR at public machines. They can be found at main bus stations such as the bus terminal at the main railway station, or at the Rathaus Galerien. Please note that when you buy single tickets or 4-journey tickets from the machines, you have to stamp them IN the bus/tram at the orange boxes. Otherwise they are not valid for transportation! When you buy the tickets from the bus/tram driver, they are already valid. For fares see the website of the Innsbruck Public Transport below (it is translated to English aswell!). If your hotel is located in or close to the city center, think well before you buy one of these 24-hours tickets. If you like walking, you can reach most of the attractions by foot. Then it might be enough if you buy a single ticket (EUR 1,70 at the moment) or a 4 journey-ticket (EUR 5.70).
One or the other might just enjoy an old-fashionable but romantic way to get around - the tramway as long as they are still there! They are planning to replace the old historic trams by new modern ones ... See also info on the website.

Innsbruck has a good transport infrastructure for a city of its size, including an integrated tram and bus network. A single journey within the city costs 1.60, and can be purchased from the tram driver. An excellent route planning system can be found at the link below.

We found the public transportation in Innsbruck to be quite confusing compared to other Austrian cities. A majority of lines leave from the Hauptbahnhof (main train station), so the best tip is to go the information office first (located in the hauptbahnhof) and tell them where you want to go and then they will write down what bus/tram number and stop you will need. Don't try to ask the Bus driver where the bus is going, unless of course you speak German.

The bus to town was easy enough if you have it arranged ahead of time....a bus driver will wait for your flight to arrive, give you a little tour from airport to destination, and helpful in giving out advice.

The ski buses were all located in the middle of town. Each had routes to different mountains, and for the most part had morning to late afternoon schedules. There were buses that left around 8AM, 10AM, 12PM....the waiting area can get crowded, so it is best to know which mtn bus you are watching for, and what departure/return time you want. If for some reason you miss the mtn buses, there are public buses that take you up to more of the local mtns.

One method that avoided driving on the roads yourself or by bus was this rail line that takes you inside and around the town....this is propably the most efficient way to get around if time is of concern, oh yeah...and snow

We lived quite close to the city center, so that we didn´t had to take the tram really.... The inner city isn´t that big so you can walk from sight to sight..... for some longer ways you can take the tram......You buy your tickets right inside the tram......

There are trams and buses going around the whole Innsbruck. One hour ticket is 1,4 € but there are also day, week and month tickets available. It's possible to buy them in Info center which is on the crossing of Maria Theresia strasse and Herzog Friederich str.
(see map on front page)
Thre are no night trams or busses, and last ones leave around midnight. It's not that terrible cause Innsbruck isn't so big city and, unless you're staying somewhere really outside, everything is in foot distance. And, there are lots of taxi's driving around and looking for customers... But, anyway, be careful if wearing high heels!!!!