Munich: New Transport Tariff System

Posted on February 29, 2020

I have previously written about getting around Munich. But the city is updating its tariff system in order to simplify it. Below I highlight what changes in practice for you.

As of December 2019, the new Munich tariff system considers the city as the center of reference. From there, the surrounding metropolitan territory was divided into 6 concentric circles, each representing a tariff zone as shown on the map:

Munich New Tariff System

But what does it mean for you? It means that now the most basic ticket covers Zone M and that’s what you should choose at the vending machines when going about town. Also important is that Munich Airport is on Zone 5.

AIRPORT-CITY / CITY-AIRPORT

You have a few options for covering the route from/to the airport. Don’t forget to choose Zones M-5.

For solo travelers:

Single Ticket Airport-City or vice-versa: €11.50 (purchase at machines or within the MVV-App);
Single Day Ticket: €13, valid on selected day until 6am of following day;
Airport-City-Day-Ticket Single: €13, valid on selected day until 6am of following day.

TIP: Whenever two persons are traveling together, it’ll always be cheaper to buy a group ticket instead of two singles.

For group travelers (up to 5 adults):

Group Day Ticket: €24.30, valid on selected day until 6am of following day;
Airport-City-Day-Ticket Group: €24.30, valid on selected day until 6am of following day.

Note that the MVV Single Day Ticket for zones M-5 and the Airport-City-Day-Ticket are interchangeable, covering the same area for the same price.

GETTING AROUND Munich

You’ll also have plenty of options for worry-free time-based tickets for your stay. The prices below are for Zone M, as you’ll find every point of interest within.

For solo travelers:

Single Day Ticket: €7.80, valid on selected day until 6am of following day;
CityTourCard* Single 24h or 48h: €13.90 and €20.90, respectively;
CityTourCard* Single 3, 4, 5 or 6 days: €24.90, €29.90, €35.90 and €41.90, respectively, valid from selected day until 6am of day following last day of validity;
München Card* Single 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 days: €11.90, €19.90, €28.90, €35.90 and €43.90, respectively, valid from selected day until 6am of day following last day of validity;
IsarCard-Woche (Weekly): €17.10, valid from selected day until 12 noon of day following last day of validity. It’s not possible yet to buy the IsarCard online, but you’ll find it on the MVV vending machines.

For group travelers (up to 5 adults):

Group Day Ticket: €14.80, valid on selected day until 6am of following day;
CityTourCard* Group 24h or 48h: €22.90 and €34.90, respectively;
CityTourCard* Group 3, 4, 5 or 6 days: €37.90, €47.90, €57.90 and €67.90, respectively, valid from selected day until 6am of day following last day of validity;
München Card* Group 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 days: €21.90, €32.90, €42.90, €52.90 and €62.90, respectively, valid from selected day until 6am of day following last day of validity.

*Both the CityTourCard and the München Card are aimed at tourists and give discounts on several attractions (listed on the links). I always advise against this kind of ticket, unless you’ll really visit lots of those attractions. That’s the only way for these discounts to be worth the (usually much) higher price of these tickets.

Final comment

The initiative to simplify the Munich system is very welcome, but they still lack good options for fast visitors. In the meantime, it’s worth comparing whichever time-based ticket you’d need with the IsarCard-Woche, even if you’ll use much less than the seven days.