"TRAIN: Ticket machines–short distances" Top 5 Page for this destination Germany Transportation Tip by Trekki

It is customs since long that train travellers in Germany must have their ticket when stepping in the train. But since recently, it is the same for more and more busses and streetcars – the drivers simply don’t have the ticket printer inside, and partly their conducting seat (?) is separated from the passengers.

So, the use of ticket machines for train (short distance travels), bus and streetcars is quite essential. Compared to so many other countries I travelled in… as for so many things… the ones in Germany seem to be quite complicated to operate.
First you choose your destination (left on the machine “Wählen Sie Ihr Fahrtziel”), which is the first challenge, as even when I use these things, my destination is not always easy to find on the offered list. The list is alphabetical; the destinations have a number next to them.
So, when you have found the destination (if in doubt, choose the most closest and claim to be the foreigner when encountering some ticket controller later, this works !), type in the number (middle), choose adult or kid, and then the type of ticket.
Einzelfahrt is one way, Tageskarte is day ticket, Gruppentageskarte stands for groups of 5, and Zuschlag is supplement, which is only necessary for trains like IC and ICE (Intercity or IC Europe), but not for busses and streetcars.
You can also get a weekly (Wochenkarte) or monthly ticket (Monatskarte), and Bahncard is accepted also by now for shorter travel distances.
The price is shown on the display (top middle), and theoretically this display can switch languages, but I have seen some where only German was available….
You can pay with cash (coins or banknotes), and credit card.

For train tickets, there is usually a ticket counter available in the main hall (7 a.m. – 7 p.m.), but for travelling short train distances, it is better to use this machine, as the counters are usually packed with customers :-)

Mode: AROUND
Type: Bus