A Quick Guide to the Rhineland Tariff

The Rhineland network is divided into individual fare zones. Each fare zone corresponds to a city or municipality. In total, the Rhineland fare system has three fare levels — 1a/1b, 2, and 3 — as well as the short-distance fare, which is valid until May 31, 2028.

The following applies:

• In the VRS, the short-distance fare continues to be based on the principle of “boarding plus four stops.”
  (Exception: RE, RB, and S-Bahn trains, as well as express buses, may not be used with the short-distance fare!)
  (In the AVV, the line-specific short-distance fare remains in effect for the city of Aachen and the Aachen Metropolitan Region Aachen, as do the short-distance zones for the districts of Düren and Heinsberg.)

• Fare Level 1 applies to trips within a city or municipality. For the cities of Aachen, Bonn, and Cologne, due to their significantly more extensive public transit networks, Fare Level variant 1b applies; for all other cities/municipalities in the AVV and VRS, Fare Level variant 1a applies.

• Price Level 2 generally applies to trips beyond the starting municipality and its neighboring municipality into an adjacent municipality (generally in accordance with the former Price Levels 2 and 3 of the old AVV and VRS fare structures).

• Fare Level 3 applies to the entire fare zone (former AVV and VRS areas, now: Rheinlandnetz).

You can find out which fare level applies to your trip…

• check using the VRS schedule information:
  To do this, simply enter your starting point and destination in the online schedule information tool and view the available connections. In addition to the various travel options, you’ll also see which fare tier applies to your journey to your destination.

For transit companies in the VRS network, all tickets purchased from ticket vending machines are already validated and ready for immediate use. You can purchase unvalidated tickets in advance at the transit companies’ sales offices.

However, you can always tell by the imprint on the tickets whether they have already been validated and are ready for immediate use, or whether you need to validate them at the ticket validators at stops or on the vehicle itself.

Single-ride tickets have a limited validity period. The trip must be completed by the end of this period. Exceptions are permitted only for reasons related to the schedule or operational circumstances (e.g., extended transfer times, delays).

Single-ride tickets are valid from the time of validation or purchase as follows:

• Short-distance: Boarding point plus four stops (local variations possible)
  in the VRS → valid for 20 minutes from validation
  in the AVV → line-specific short distance: 10 minutes; short-distance zone: valid for 40 minutes
  
• Fare Level 1a/1b:
  all cities/municipalities (except Aachen, Cologne, and Bonn) = 1a
  Aachen, Cologne, and Bonn = 1b
  valid for 90 minutes from the time of validation
  
• Fare Level 2: Replaces the previous fare levels 2 and 3
  Generally valid from the starting municipality through neighboring municipalities to adjacent municipalities
  Valid for 180 minutes from the time of validation
  
• Price Tier 3: Replaces the previous Price Tiers 4 through 7
  Valid throughout the entire Rhineland network
  Valid for 360 minutes from the time of validation

For all customers who still have unused AVV- or VRS-tariff tickets after the launch of the Rheinlandtarif, there is a simple and customer-friendly transitional arrangement:

• Unvalidated tickets under the AVV and VRS fare systems can be exchanged for up to three years after the launch of the Rheinlandtarif (through May 31, 2029) at the issuing transit company (customer contract partner)—either the amount paid will be fully refunded, or the ticket will be exchanged for a Rhineland Tariff ticket upon payment (or refund) of the difference. For multi-trip passes, this applies on a pro-rata basis to unused trips.
• Furthermore, until August 31, 2026, tickets under the AVV or VRS fare systems will be accepted as valid tickets if they are valid at the time of travel. Please note that for AVV- or VRS-tariff tickets, the fare tier system and validity rules of the respective AVV or VRS tariff continue to apply—and explicitly not the fare tier system of the Rhineland tariff.
  

You can find the contact information for the transit companies here:

Transportation Companies in the VRS

In addition to the statutory holidays observed in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rose Monday, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve are treated as statutory holidays under the fare agreement. This means that all extension and companion provisions of tickets under the Rhineland fare agreement also apply on these days.

You can find detailed ticket descriptions here:

Ticket Selection

In the online ticket shop, you can purchase Deutschlandtickets, 24hTickets, and monthly passes in all price tiers online. There are also seasonal offers available, such as the KarnevalsTicket or the CSD-Ticket.

You’ll receive your personal ticket as a download and via email as soon as you complete your online order. Depending on which email account you use, you should be able to access your ticket via email within 5 minutes at the latest.

Please note that online tickets are non-transferable and are only valid when presented with a valid form of identification ( e.g., ID card, passport, etc.).

You can find more information here:

VRS Ticket Shop

The online ticket shop is operated by Rhein-Sieg Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH (RSVG) on behalf of all transportation companies in the VRS network. If you encounter any problems purchasing or receiving online tickets, please contact RSVG directly.

You can reach RSVG by email at: onlineticket(at)rsvg.de or by phone at: 02241 4990

You can find more information here:

VRS Ticket Shop

You can purchasesingle-ride tickets, 24-hour tickets, and monthly passes —as well as surcharges for first-class travel, express buses, and bicycle transport—cashlessly via your cell phone for immediate use.

In addition, seasonal ticket offers, such as the Carnival Ticket and the CSD Ticket, are available for purchase as HandyTickets.

Before purchasing your first HandyTicket, you must register once as a HandyTicket customer on the Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG HandyTicket portal and download the app to your phone.

You can find more information here:

HandyTickets

If you’d like to use the SWB system (“easy.GO”), please contact Stadtwerke Bonn by phone at 0228 711-1

If you have any questions about HandyTicket, please contact Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG (KVB) directly by email: handyticket(at)kvb.koeln

For questions about the Stadtwerke Bonn EasyGo app, please call: 0228 7111