Warsaw

Getting around by public transport

Travelling by bus, tram and subway.

Public operator ZTM runs most of the buses and all of the trams in Warsaw as an integrated network. Either buy a single ticket which covers a journey on a single bus, subway trip or tram (about 2.50 zloty at February 2006) or a Dobowe ticket which is valid on all subways, buses and trams for 24 hours after the first use. The dobowe ticket costs a little less than three times the price of a single trip. Tickets are available from newstands and tobacconists displaying the ZTM logo. Either way you need to validate your ticket in the machine as soon as you board the bus, and an extra ticket must be bought for luggage. For full details (in Polish), see the ZTM website. During the day buses run regularly (about every 10 minutes on key routes up to every 30 minutes on quieter routes. From about midnight to 6am the regular schedules for both buses and trams are replaced by night services. These run over a more limited range of routes, and are as irregular as one per hour, but will still get you home using the same cheap tickets.

Fare dodging is rife in Warsaw, and inspections are rare so it is probably quite possible to get away with it. That said, the revenue control inspectors patrol in plain clothes, and while Poles might be happy to argue with them it will be much more difficult for a foreigner to do so. In any case the day tickets are extremely cheap and nobody likes moocher so just pay up. It is also far more risky to dodge fares on the subway where the control will just frogmarch you to the police station to be dealt with by the big boys

Private buses.

Various locations which are not well-served by ZTM buses are served by one of a dozen private operators. Unlike the rest of Poland these are generally coaches rather than minibuses, and are much less common. In the even that you need to catch one you just need to pay the driver. Expect to pay a little more than on the ZTM buses, and bear in mind that the ZTM day passes are not valid.

PKP local trains.

The Polish nation rail company PKP run a network of local and commuter trains in the greater Warsaw area. You are unlikely to need to catch these for any reason, but if you do just buy tickets for them from the non-Intercity windows in stations in the same way as for any PKP train.