In the meantime, the jungle of tariffs in rail transport has become almost impenetrable. Gradually, the dynamic pricing from aviation was “copied” and put on track. The Agency for Passenger and Passenger Rights is attempting to explain how ticket prices in Austria are made up.

Different prices apply to single tickets, depending on whether they are purchased from one of the seven Austrian transport associations or from the railway company ÖBB-Personenverkehr. For routes within a network area, only the network tariff is applied. However, if certain discount cards (e.g. ÖBB Vorteilscard Classic/66) are used, you will also receive an ÖBB ticket for journeys within a transport association.

If a trip goes beyond the limits of a transport association, you no longer pay the association tariff, but switch to the tariff of the respective railway company. In terms of figures, the most significant figures are the prices of ÖBB passenger transport.

ÖBB standard single ticket

The standard single ticket is generally valid for two days (e.g. from Vienna to Innsbruck), but only one day within a network area (e.g. Vienna-St. Pölten). With this ticket, any ÖBB train can be used within the period of validity and the journey can also be interrupted in between (e.g. journey from Vienna to Innsbruck with a stopover in Salzburg). Mind you, without a reservation there is no entitlement to a specific train. The ticket can be canceled before the first day of validity, but not on or after the first day of validity.

New price system for ÖBB standard single tickets

The standard prices for single tickets for ÖBB-Personenverkehr used to be very simple. A fixed rate per kilometer (e.g. 1-10, 11-20 kilometers) had to be paid for the kilometers driven; the ticket price was easy for passengers to understand.

A few years ago, the tariff system of ÖBB-Personenverkehr was converted to so-called relation prices as a first step. Now all relations in Austria have their own price. With these, supply and demand as well as factors such as travel speed and time determine the ticket price.

In a second step - starting in autumn 2021 - the ÖBB standard single ticket prices were also made dependent on which sales channel and when the ticket is purchased:

• The earlier a booking is made (purchase 180-15 days before the trip, 14-1 days before the trip or on the day of the trip), the cheaper the ticket is.
• Tickets bought on the website or in the app are the cheapest. They are the second cheapest at vending machines. This is followed by the purchase at the cash register. The most expensive tickets are those bought on (long-distance) trains.
• This results in a total of 12 different prices for ÖBB standard single tickets per route in 1st class and another 12 different prices in 2nd class.
• People who cannot or do not want to use the internet and smartphone do not benefit from the cheaper tariffs in the case of the ÖBB standard single ticket. In addition, prices rise the more quickly you book or can book a trip.