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| Home > City Guide - Munich - Getting Around | ||
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Getting Around Public Transport The comprehensive transport network is run by the Münchener Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund GmbH – MVV, Thierschstrasse 2 (tel: (089) 4142 4344; website: www.mvv-muenchen.de). This consists of an integrated system of 20 Strassenbahn (tram) lines, more than 80 bus lines, 8 U-Bahn (underground) lines and 8 S-Bahn (suburban train) lines. The area covered by the MVV is divided into concentric zones. All transport runs daily 0500-0100, with additional hourly services on night buses and trams 0100-0500. Tickets are available for purchase from blue ticket machines marked with the MVV logo and from other ticket outlets. Tickets must be validated in blue Entwerter machines, marked with the letter ‘E’, upon boarding – except on new trams, for which pre-validated tickets are available. Passengers found without a valid ticket are subject to a €30 fine. Single fares start at €2 for one zone – the cost of a Kurzstrecke (very short journey) is €1. Strips of ten tickets (Streifenkarten) are available for €9 – two strips must be validated for each zone travelled through. A one-day pass (Single-Tageskarte) costs between €4.50 for the central area and €9 for the entire network. Three-day tickets for the central zone cost €11. All of the above are available as Partner Tickets, valid for up to five adults and costing a little less than two single passes. Taxis Taxis are usually beige Mercedes and can be safely hailed on the street. Taxi-München (tel: (089) 21610 or 19410) is the central dispatching service. The flat rate is €3.60, if ordered by telephone, or €2.60, if entered at a taxi stand or on the street, plus €1.35 for every kilometre travelled. A tip of 5-10% is common practice. Limousines Rent-a-limousine, Anselweg 2 (tel: (089) 1799 8787; website: www.rent-a-limousine.com), charges from €450 for an E-Class Mercedes sedan for three hours, including the first 60km (37 miles). For each extra kilometre, the price is €1.08. Alternatively, SEL Limousine Service, Neufahrner Strasse 5-9 (tel: (089) 3293 3222; fax: (089) 3293 3100; e-mail: info@limousines.de; website: www.limousines.de), charges from €72 for three hours, including 37.5km (23 miles), plus €1 for each additional kilometre. Driving in the City Traffic can be heavy, particularly during rush hour (roughly 0700-0900 and 1600-1800) and parking is often problematic. Drivers should note that trams always have priority in the city, although driving on their tracks is permissible and usually unavoidable. Buses have priority when leaving stops. The most useful car parks include those at Karlsplatz, particularly towards Munich Hauptbahnhof, and at Färbergraben, just south of the pedestrianised Kaufingerstrasse. Parking is generally around €1.50 for half an hour, €3 for an hour or €15 for the day, although prices can vary. Car Hire Drivers need to be at least 21 years to hire a category one car. Nevertheless, small cars, such as a Smart car, can be hired at 18 years. Insurance in Germany is mandatory and drivers must hold a valid national driving licence. There are numerous car hire firms, both at the airport and in the city. Central locations of representative major providers, with late hours, include Hertz, Bahnhofsplatz 2 (tel: (089) 550 2256; website: www.hertz.de), and Avis, Im Hauptbahnhof (tel: (089) 550 2251/2; website: www.avis.de). Autoverleih Sander, Leopoldstrasse 107 (tel: (089) 348 046; website: www.sander-autoverleih.de) is a local alternative. The average price for a small car is €45, plus €20 insurance per day, although prices can vary. Bicycle & Scooter Hire Call A Bike (tel: (0700) 0522 5522; website: www.callabike.de), operated by DB, has bikes spread over Munich. By calling the number (above), a credit card account is set up, which enables customers to release the electronically locked bike by inputting a pin code. When finished, the cyclist returns the bike to a bike rack, which are situated near any major intersection. The appropriate fee is then deducted from the credit card. Charges are €1.80 initial rate, plus €0.05 per minute – after the total reaches €15 (after 8 hours 20 minutes), rental is free until 24 hours, when the process starts again. Once an account and pin code are set up, any available bike can be used at any time. Bikes can be hired in the ordinary way for €17 per day, from May to October, at Radius Touristik, in Munich Hauptbahnhof, opposite platform 32 (tel: (089) 596 113; website: www.radius-munich.com). The company also offers maps and advice and can organise tours if reserved beforehand. Spurwechsel, Sankt-Martin-Strasse 9 (tel: (089) 692 4699; website: www.spurwechsel-muenchen.de), also hires out bicycles. Allround Auto- und Motorradvermietung GmbH, Boschetsriederstrasse 12 (tel: (089) 723 2343; website: www.allroundrent.de), hires out cars, motorbikes and scooters – the latter cost from €20 for 24-hours. |
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