FAQs
General
How to calculate your fare
The VRB is divided into 48 fare zones. The principle is simple:
- If you only travel within one fare zone, price bracket 1 or the city rate applies, e.g., for 90 minutes in Braunschweig.
- If you are travelling in two adjacent zones, such as from Braunschweig to Salzgitter, you will need a price bracket 2 ticket.
- If you are travelling in three adjacent zones, such as from Langelsheim to Vienenburg, a price bracket 3 ticket is required.
- For four or more fare zones, such as from Braunlage to Cremlingen, you need to buy a ticket for price bracket 4.
The pack of 8 day tickets, the pack of 6 standard tickets and travel passes purchased in advance remain valid indefinitely until cancelled. The above tickets will not be exchange or redeemed. They can be used up. The difference from the current fare will not be charged.
Monthly passes for January remain valid until the entered date.
For example: If you bought your monthly pass on 20 December 2020, you can use it as entered on the pass until 12 noon on 20 January2021.
A maximum of 4 children aged up to and including 5 years will be carried free of charge if accompanied by a supervising person. The supervisor must be at least 10 years of age.
Discounted child tickets are valid for children from 6 up to and including 14 years of age. On the 15th birthday, a normal adult ticket must be purchased.
Yes, you can take your bike with you on all VRB transport. - You will need a bicycle day ticket, which is valid on the day of validation until the end of services of the respective transport company. However, passengers, pushchairs and wheelchairs have priority when space is tight. In case of doubt, the driver decides. Trains often have special multi-purpose areas, which are marked with a bicycle symbol.
Holders of a Plus monthly pass, a Plus season ticket or a Job season ticket can take a bicycle instead of another adult person free of charge from 7pm Monday to Friday, as well as all day on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, and 24 and 31 December.
The dial-a-ride shared taxi (AST) will pick you up from a marked stop after you have made a telephone booking, and will take you to your desired final destination. If you ask to be taken to the door, a convenience surcharge will apply for each journey. The convenience surcharge is €1.00 per person. This surcharge also applies in full to children.
The dial-a-ride taxi (ALT) or the dial-a-ride bus (ALB) is used on routes with low traffic demand. After booking by phone, you will be taken on a fixed route from your setting-off stop to your destination stop. You will need a ticket or pass for the relevant fare zone. No surcharge will be charged.
The telephone numbers for ordering an AST/ALT can be found in the applicable timetable. For more information, please contact the transport company.
Eligible disabled persons will be carried free of charge on all light rail and bus routes as well as in standard class in all supplement-free TOC trains approved for the VRB.
To prove eligibility, the orange-printed disabled-person’s pass and the supplementary sheet with valid token must be carried. This can be obtained from the relevant welfare office (Lower Saxony State Office for Social Affairs, Youth and Family).
Carers may also travel free of charge if the addition “The need for constant accompaniment is confirmed” is noted in the pass, or if the mark “B” is not deleted.
DB AG can provide information about regulations for long-distance trains.
Accessible travel is very important to us and we will keep you informed.
Tickets
Verkehrsverbund Region Braunschweig (VRB) tickets can be obtained directly from drivers on buses (WVG: restricted ticket range), from the advance-ticket offices of the network partners, in the VRB app “VRB Fahrinfo & Tickets”, in the “MEINE BSVG” app , in the WVG app and from the ticket machines at all train stations and in trams in Braunschweig.
It is not possible to purchase tickets on trains. Please use the ticket machines at the stations.
The VRB has day tickets that allow 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 people to travel as often as they want all day long within the fare zones printed on the ticket. Larger groups can buy additional day tickets.
VRB day tickets cannot be used on IC trains.
The extension ticket can be used by all holders of Plus monthly passes, Plus season tickets, Off-peak season tickets, Job season tickets, Senior monthly passes, Senior season tickets, Term passes (SSZKs) and Social tickets. The extension ticket is valid for any number of fare zones.
The extension ticket must be purchased directly from a bus driver, at a ticket machine or in the “VRB Fahrinfo & Tickets” app before departure and, if necessary, validated before departure. Since the ticket is only valid for travel in one direction, you will need extension tickets for both outward and return journeys.
If the accompanied-travel rules are applied, one extension ticket is valid for all accompanying passengers.
Yes. For example, if you are on holiday in St. Andreasberg and still have some sections of multi-pack tickets for price bracket 1 from fare zone 10 (Gifhorn) with you, you can also use them in fare zone 88 (Braunlage/St. Andreasberg).
In general, multi-packs of tickets are valid throughout the network area, regardless of where they were purchased, but only for the same number of fare zones.
With multi-pack tickets for price bracket 2, it does not matter whether you travel from Wolfenbüttel to Börssum, from Peine to Vechelde, from Wolfsburg to Lehre or from Vienenburg to Bad Harzburg. However, you cannot travel from Gifhorn to Braunschweig, for example, as this requires tickets for price bracket 3.
Multi-pack tickets for the city rate are only valid in the city-rate zones in Brunswick, Wolfsburg and Goslar.
Standard tickets and multi-pack tickets are valid for a certain period of time according to their price bracket. Within this period, you can change trains as often as you like, interrupt your journey and, if time permits, return with the same ticket.
The pack of 8 day tickets is perfect for flexible working from home. The ticket can be used like a day ticket – for any number of journeys within a day in the chosen price bracket for buses, light rail and regional trains. The benefit for you is that you buy 8 day tickets in one go at a discounted price and can use them on freely selectable days. There is no time limit for the 8 day tickets to be used up.
If you are 65 or over, we recommend the Senior pass. It is available in all price brackets: city rate (valid in Braunschweig, Wolfsburg or Goslar), price bracket 1, 2 and 3, and as a network pass for the entire network area (price bracket 4). If you regularly use local public transport throughout the year, the Senior season ticket is the cost-saving alternative.
If you do not travel by bus and rail until 9am at the earliest, you can save even more with an Off-peak season ticket. This ticket is also available in all price brackets.
If you are under 65, the Off-peak season ticket is also the cheapest option. Unless you also want to use bus and rail in the morning, in which case we recommend the Plus monthly pass or Plus season ticket.
Season ticket order forms are available in the service centres of the transport companies. Alternatively, you can also download one here and print it out yourself.
For travel with local trains within Lower Saxony, you will need a ticket for the entire route at the Lower Saxony rate.
Exceptions: Time-limited tickets at the GVH regional rate from Peine and Vöhrum stations as well as Calberlah, Gifhorn, Leiferde, Meinersen and Dedenhausen to the GVH ticket area.
Note:
When using InterCity trains, the combination of time-limited tickets at the VRB rate with time-limited tickets at the GVH regional rate for journeys between Helmstedt/Braunschweig and Hanover is only possible with ICs that also stop in Peine. In all other ICs, this combination is not accepted as a valid travel pass. To travel by IC with a VRB ticket (monthly pass or season ticket), you will need an IC/EC surcharge that is valid for one month.
Separate transfer regulations have been agreed for the following bus connections:
- GVH route 948 Hohenhameln–Hämelerwald
- ONS route 507
- BBG route 124 with CeBus route 460
- BBG route 141
- VLG route 133 with CeBus route 470/510
- VLG routes 124, 136 with CeBus route 460
- VB route 335 Wolfsburg–Oebisfelde
- HVB route 260 Wernigerode–Bad Harzburg
- HVB route 257 Wernigerode–Braunlage
- RVHi route Hohenhameln–Hildesheim
A special transition rate applies to travel across different network areas from the district of Goslar to the district of Osterode (VSN rate). You can find more information about this at Harz transition rate.
There is also a transition rate on the bus routes between the Seesen fare zone and the municipality of Bockenem.
Further information is available from the relevant transport companies.
The Lower-Saxony ticket is valid from 9am on Mondays to Fridays and all day on weekends on all local trains, buses and light rail services in the network area. In addition to the TOC ticket offices and ticket machines, the Lower-Saxony ticket is also available on all VRB buses and light rail services. So you can buy the Lower-Saxony ticket right at the start of your journey by bus or light rail.
The Under-21 pass is the practical and inexpensive leisure ticket for all people under the age of 21. The ticket is available as a monthly pass and as a season ticket. It is valid from 2pm on school days (Monday to Friday) and all day on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, as well as during school holidays. The Under-21 pass is valid on buses, light rail and local trains within the entire VRB area.
The age at the beginning of the first month of the subscription period applies when ordering the Under-21 season ticket.
Season ticket order forms are available in the service centres of the transport companies. Alternatively, you can also download one here and print it out yourself.
School students, trainees, students
No, that’s not possible.
Student monthly passes for the price of €15 or Student annual passes for the price of €180 cannot be extended. If you want to travel outside of Braunschweig, just buy the Student monthly pass for €30 (Student annual pass for €360); it is valid throughout the network area.
No, the Student monthly pass (€15 for Braunschweig and €30 for the entire region) is not linked to age. We also offer cost-saving local public transport tickets for all adult-education (“Zweiter Bildungsweg”) students. The educational pathways for which a Student monthly pass can be used are stated in our ticket regulations.
The entitlement to use Student monthly passes must be proven by a valid student ID card with photo. If no such ID is available, school students or students aged 15 or over will need a VRB customer card. The application for the VRB customer card must be completed by the school student or student and confirmed by the school or training company. An up-to-date photo must be brought when applying.
The customer card is issued by the transport company for a maximum of one school year. It can be extended in the following school years upon submission of a new application.
The application is also available from all transport companies.
For ticket checks, the valid student ID card or the VRB customer card must be presented together with the Student monthly pass.
VRB Semester tickets are only available to students from colleges/universities that have concluded a Semester ticket contract with VRB. Currently, this includes students of Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel University of Applied Sciences (Eastphalia), Braunschweig University of Fine Arts (HBK), Braunschweig University of Technology, Welfenakademie Braunschweig. The ticket can be used on all buses, light rail and local trains (RegionalBahn RB, RegionalExpress RE) of the VRB transport companies.
The registration form section with the imprint “VRB-Semesterkarte” in conjunction with a photo ID or the chip card issued by universities is valid as a travel pass. Semester tickets from colleges outside the Braunschweig region are not valid in the VRB region.
If your university/college does not have a framework agreement with us, you can still use public transport at a reasonable price – with the Student monthly pass for Braunschweig or for the entire network area.
You need a VRB customer card for this. Complete the application for a customer card and have it signed by the education or internship establishment. VRB transport companies will issue a customer card in their service centres following presentation of this proof (don’t forget the up-to-date photo).
Monthly passes
Plus monthly passes, Plus season tickets, Off-peak season tickets, Student monthly passes, Term passes (SSZK) and Social tickets can be extended beyond their actual area of validity for occasional journeys by the additional purchase of an extension ticket for any number of fare zones. The validity of the extension ticket is 150 minutes after the stamped time.
The extension ticket must be purchased directly from the bus driver, at the ticket machine or in the app “VRB Fahrinfo & Tickets” before departure and, if necessary, cancelled before departure. Since the ticket is only valid for travel in one direction, you will need extension tickets for both outward and return journeys.
If the accompanied-travel rules are applied, one extension ticket is valid for all accompanying passengers.
On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, as well as on 24 and 31 December, holders of Plus monthly passes and Plus season tickets, as well as Job season tickets holders, can take one adult and up to three children with them free of charge. The accompanied-travel rules apply from 7pm Monday to Friday. Instead of an adult, you can also take a bicycle.
When using InterCity trains, it is not generally permitted to take additional persons (even against payment of a surcharge).
Monthly passes and season tickets are only valid for the fare zone(s) registered on them. With a monthly pass from Lehre (fare zone 36) to Braunschweig (fare zone 40), it is not possible to occasionally travel to Wolfsburg (fare zone 20). The monthly pass for price bracket 4 guarantees completely unrestricted use, since it is valid as a network pass.
Holders of a VRB season ticket, a Plus monthly pass, a Senior monthly pass, a Student monthly pass, a Term pass (SSZKs) or Social ticket can travel for occasional journeys beyond the area of validity of the monthly pass with a cost-saving extension ticket that is valid for any number of fare zones.
The extension ticket must be purchased directly from a bus driver, at a ticket machine or in the “VRB Fahrinfo & Tickets” app before departure and, if necessary, validated before departure. Since the ticket is only valid for travel in one direction, you will need extension tickets for both outward and return journeys.
If the accompanied-travel rules are applied, one extension ticket is valid for all accompanying passengers.
DB tickets
The CityTicket is valid in Wolfsburg (fare zone 20), Braunschweig (fare zone 40) and Salzgitter (fare zone 60). After their train journey, holders of a long-distance ticket to Braunschweig, Wolfsburg or Salzgitter purchased with the BahnCard 25 or 50 over a distance of at least 100 km can use their travel ticket to travel to their final destination for free on local public transport, and back again on the return journey.
The BahnCard 100 functions as a CityTicket in fare zones 20, 40 and 60.
You can find out more about the CityTicket on the DB AG website www.bahn.de.
The BahnCard 25 or 50 is also valid for journeys beyond VRB borders (e.g., Helmstedt–Magdeburg, Braunschweig–Hanover, Gifhorn–Uelzen).
The BahnCard 25 or 50 is not valid for local trains within the VRB region (e.g., Königslutter–Peine, Goslar–Wolfenbüttel, Braunschweig–Wittingen).
The BahnCard 100 is generally also valid on all rail lines within the VRB region. In fare zones 20 (Wolfsburg), 40 (Braunschweig) and 60 (Salzgitter), it is also accepted on VRB buses and trams.
Only a few VRB tickets can also be used on InterCity trains (IC). This applies to selected time-limited tickets: the Plus season ticket, the Job season ticket and Student annual passes as well as Plus monthly passes and Student monthly passes. A special surcharge has to be paid monthly for the use of IC trains.
Standard tickets, multi-pack tickets, day tickets and the Semester ticket are not approved for travel by IC.
VRB tickets are not valid for ICE.
Online store
If you would like to buy digital mobile tickets from our new “VRB Fahrinfo & Tickets” app, you first have to register. You can do this easily in the app, for example by clicking on the ticket shop and then on the person icon above.
To register you first have to enter the following personal information:
- Gender (male/female/non-binary)
- First and last name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Mobile phone number
- Email address
We require this data to activate you for the purchase of tickets. If you are registered and create a payment method, this will be communicated to the payment services provider, who will, among other things, verify your identity and contact you if necessary.
You must be at least seven years old to register with us. This is related to the limited ability to enter into transactions, as well as the requirements of the payment services provider. The payment method you can use will then depend on your exact age.
There are various payment methods available to you in our app. You can use credit (prepaid) from the age of seven. You must be at least 16 years old to pay with a credit card and at least 18 years old to pay by SEPA direct debit. These age limits apply regardless of whether or not you are the account holder for the payment method stored. This means that it not possible to register at the age of seven, for example, and to save the SEPA direct debit details of a legal guardian. The minimum age for PayPal is based on the respective General Terms and Conditions. It is possible for a ticket to be paid for from someone else’s PayPal account (with their consent) regardless of your age.
With the credit (prepaid) payment method, we offer our young customers in particular an attractive means of payment. Once you have successfully registered, you can select the “Payment methods” field in your user profile (person icon in the top right corner of the ticket shop).
If this is your first time creating a credit, select “Prepaid” under “Add new payment method”. You can then select the amount you want to top up and how you want to pay in the credit.
You have two options for topping up your credit directly: “Giropay” and “eps transfer”. This is advantageous if you want to use the credit to buy a ticket straight away. To do this, your bank must support the selected method.
With the third method, SEPA transfer, you will then receive the bank details and the purpose of your transfer via email. In order for your payment to be allocated quickly and without error, please only indicate the purpose stated in the email. This process takes up the usual time for a transfer process and therefore takes a few working days. You can also use this method, for example, as an employer to pay your employees a credit for public transport use as a benefit.
If you no longer wish to use the credit (prepaid) and would like to withdraw the amount, please contact our financial services provider, LogPay Financial Services GmbH, directly. You can contact LogPay by email at mobility@logpay.de or by phone on +49 (0)6196 8012-702. For preventive reasons to avoid criminal financial transactions, LogPay is obliged to make direct contact and reconciliation. The payment of the balance must normally be made to the account or to the person who deposited the money.
After selecting and configuring your desired ticket and clicking on “Finish buy process”, you can click directly on the PayPal button. In either case, you will be redirected to PayPal to log in and confirm the payment. After successful confirmation you can go back to the app and the ticket purchase is complete. You must also register with us before paying with PayPal.
For example, you can choose to use a payment method other than PayPal, and then choose whether to use the PayPal button to pay with PayPal, or the “Finish buy process” button to use the other payment method.
You can use any PayPal account to pay with PayPal. It is important that the person consents to this. Aside from the minimum age for creating a PayPal account (currently 18 years old), there is no other requirement for us to set up a minimum age.
Thus, for example, parents can also pay for their children’s Student monthly pass with PayPal.
In the app, you can also buy multi-pack tickets for children and adults. With the first purchase of a multi-pack ticket for a corresponding price bracket, the first ticket is always validated for immediate use. You can validate the remaining tickets at any time. After validation, these tickets are also valid for immediate travel.
You can always see clearly how many multi-pack tickets (for children/adults) you have available and for which price bracket. You can select and perform the validation right there.
Multi-pack tickets are always valid for the price bracket purchased. This cannot be changed afterwards. In the case of multi-pack tickets for price bracket 1, you can freely change the start zone during the validation and, in the case of other price brackets, you can adjust the destination zone in addition to the start zone depending on the price bracket.
No starting and destination zones need to be selected for multi-pack tickets for the Braunschweig, Wolfsburg and Goslar city rates or for price bracket 4. This will allow you to validate the ticket even faster.
You can only have one multi-pack of tickets per price bracket in the app at a time. If, for example, you already have a multi-pack of tickets for price bracket 2 and select price bracket 2 via the product selection for the multi-pack ticket, you can validate the multi-pack ticket instead of buying a new one. This happens automatically.
This applies individually to the multi-packs of tickets for children and adults. This means you can have one multi-pack of tickets for children and one for adults for the same price bracket, but not two multi-packs of tickets for adults for the same price bracket.
If you are confirmed as having successfully purchased a ticket, you will usually see the ticket at the top of the ticket-shop area. In some cases, it may take a while for the ticket to appear. Then wait a bit and also check your emails to see if you have received an invoice or confirmation of purchase from us. Switching between different menu pages can also sometimes speed up the process.
You can update the display of your active tickets by clicking on the button with the update icon in the ticket shop.
If you receive an error message when you set up a SEPA direct debit, please check whether you have entered your full address correctly in your account (go to the person icon in the app and then “My data”) and all personal details are correct (such as your date of birth). This input is required for the payment services provider and is used for the form for creating the payment method with our payment services provider. This is why your address has to be stored in your account.
When paying by credit card, it can happen that the purchase cannot be completed and you receive an error message. This is because the bank needs an additional confirmation (two-factor authentication) for this payment, which is implemented via the 3D Secure procedure. This test is a requirement for the EU, but only occurs in some cases. Our payment services provider has no influence on this because this process is carried out by your bank.
We have already implemented the 3D Secure procedure in our app, but occasionally problems arise on the part of the credit institution, and we have no influence over this. If you are having trouble paying with your credit card, please contact your bank or use a different payment method.
As a registered user, you must also provide your address when using the credit card. If you have not yet entered an address, go to the person icon in the upper right corner of the app’s ticket shop and then “My data”. You can save your full address there.
If you receive an error message when you create the payment method or the process cannot be successfully completed, please first of all check whether the personal details of the user account are correct. These are transferred directly into the form when the means of payment is created and checked by the payment services provider during the process.
If the creation of a payment method is unsuccessful despite the entered data being correct and complete, please contact our payment services provider, LogPay Financial Services GmbH (LogPay), directly.
You can find answers to frequently asked questions and a contact form at https://faq.logpay.de/. If you prefer to make a phone call, you can reach LogPay on +49 (0)6196 8012 702.
Once you have created a payment method, you must always have at least one payment method in your account. It is therefore currently not possible to delete the last remaining payment method itself.
Once multiple payment methods are stored, you can delete unused payment methods (with the exception of one).
The use of PayPal as a payment method does not constitute a saved payment method, so the last payment method cannot be deleted, even if you only want to pay with PayPal.
To change your personal details, go to your account area in the ticket shop (person icon in the top right corner) and then click on “My data” (you may have to log in first). You can change some details there. However, there are some details it is not possible to change yourself, such as your gender, first and last name and date of birth. If a change is necessary, please contact our support team, for example by email at info@vrb-online.de.
You can change your address yourself, but you cannot delete the address if you have already saved address details.
When you register for and use our ticket shop, we only collect data that are necessary for the ticket purchase and the payment process. Curious what exactly your data are used for? Then take a look at our data protection information.
If your ticket has been successfully loaded into the app and the validity period as stated on the ticket matches the current time, your ticket will be valid. For some tickets, you can set the validity period before the purchase, such as for day tickets and monthly passes. Some tickets are always valid immediately, such as standard tickets and multi-pack tickets.
Your ticket is also valid when the “upcount” begins, so when the red numbers at the top right of the digital ticket are counting up to the time of two minutes. This is just a quickly visible indication of when you purchased the ticket for ticket inspectors. After the two minutes have elapsed, three means of transport move back and forth until the end of the validity. The validity can always be quickly recognised by the dynamic elements.
The tickets and fares that you can buy in our app can be found clearly in the ticket shop. The range does not match to the complete range that you can buy by other means, but is constantly expanding.
If you don’t want it to be a spontaneous trip, you can buy day tickets up to three days before the date of validity and monthly passes up to seven days before the date of validity. This way, you can secure your ticket for your scheduled trip early on and start the trip relaxed.
For packs of 8 day tickets, the first ticket is always valid immediately after purchase or activation so these cannot be purchased in advance.
Once you have completed the purchase, you will automatically receive an invoice for each ticket sent to your email address.
If you regularly use the same ticket, you do not have to reconfigure it every time. Simply go to your last purchased tickets, click on the arrow and then on “Buy”. The information is then already pre-filled and you get your ticket faster.
If you’re unsure about the price bracket you need for your journey, use the connection information. Find a journey for your desired connection and click on the ticket below. This takes you directly to the ticket shop, and the right price bracket and fare zones will already be pre-filled for you. You can now select another product and change the number of tickets you want to buy for some products, such as the standard ticket. Then just complete the purchase and you will receive the right ticket straight to your mobile phone.
Already familiar with our fares? Then you can also go directly to the ticket shop, select the desired product and enter the right price bracket and fare zone(s) yourself.
Forgotten the PIN for your account? In the ticket shop, you will find the “Forgot pin?” button in the login window. Click on it and complete the necessary fields. If these match, a new PIN will be sent to you via SMS. This will allow you to log in again. It is best to change this PIN immediately to one that you can easily remember. Or, in the account area, select “Use Face-ID / Touch-ID” from your details to log in conveniently.
If you have received a new PIN or changed your PIN, you must reselect the use of face/touch ID to ensure that the correct PIN is stored locally on your device.
If login no longer works as usual via face ID or touch ID, it may be because your PIN has been changed. In this case, please log in manually with your mobile number and PIN and enter the new PIN again in your account area. You can then reselect the use of face/touch ID for login.
After registering, you will first receive a random PIN via SMS, with which you must first log in again. After that, you can click on the person icon in the top right corner and then click on “My data”. There, you can change your PIN in addition to other details. To do this, enter the current PIN and then enter the new PIN twice.
Please note that the new PIN must have four digits.
If you no longer wish to use our online shop and would like to delete your account, please contact us via email at info@vrb-online.de.