Page 561 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Germany

TR A VEL INFORM A TION  559

Umwelt in a red circle. All vehicles DIRECTORY
must carry a permit in these
zones or incur a fine. Permits Green Travel
can be bought online (see Eurobike
Directory). Alternatively, use “Park
and Ride” (P+R) facilities near ∑ eurobike.at
S-Bahn stations. Fahrradreisen
Watch out for bus lanes ∑ fahrradreisen.de
marked by round blue signs,
which can only be used by taxis Umwelt Permits
and cyclists. ∑ umwelt-plakette.de
Parking in towns can be
difficult; the best option is to find Public Transportation
a car park (Parkhaus). Cars left in a Networks
controlled parking zone must BVG Berlin
display a ticket bought from a
A modern type of tram found in Munich machine nearby. Illegally parked ∑ bvg.de
cars can be towed; retrieving HVV Hamburg
them is expensive and difficult. ∑ hvv.de
Trams
Trams are comfortable and do MVV Munich
not get stuck in traffic jams. ∑ mvv-muenchen.de
They run as frequently as buses VGF Frankfurt/M
and have similar operating ∑ vgf-ffm.de
hours – check with local tourist
offices or online for more details. Taxis

Tickets Berlin
Taxi Berlin
Large cities are generally Tel (030) 20 20 20.
divided into public transport
zones, with the cost of a ticket Frankfurt
depending on which zones are Taxis Frankfurt
travelled through. Tel (069) 25 20 25.
In addition to standard tickets Cream coloured taxis that operate Hamburg
(Normaltarif), there are also throughout German cities Taxi Hamburg
cheaper tickets (Kurzstrecke) that
limit you to short distances. In Taxis Tel (040) 666 666.
many cities you can buy tickets Munich
in the form of a strip, which is Taxis are a comfortable though Taxi München
punched according to the length expensive way of getting around. Tel (089) 21 610.
of your journey. If several people share a cab
Children under 14 travel at a however, it can be cheaper than Cycling
reduced rate, while those under using the bus or train. All taxis are
the age of six go free. Other cream coloured and have a “TAXI” Call-A-Bike
types of tickets include a one- sign on the roof; this is illumi- Tel (069) 42 72 77 22.
day ticket (Tageskarte), a one-day nated if the taxi is free. Taxis can ∑ callabike-interaktiv.de
group ticket (Gruppen­ be hailed on the street or
tageskarte), and a weekly ticket booked by telephone. They can
(7­Tage­Karte). Some towns also be picked up at taxi ranks.
issue a WelcomeCard that
includes travel, plus discounts at Cycling
local attractions.
Most U-Bahn and S-Bahn trains Germany has numerous cycle
permit transportation of bicycles lanes, making it safe, and many
in designated cars with a junc tions have special lights for
separate ticket. cyclists. Bikes can be hired from
hostels or at various hire places
(Fahrradverleih). In some major
Driving
cities, you can use the Call-A-Bike
Many cities, including Berlin, hire system. You can rent a bike
Munich and Cologne, have using a credit card, paying €4 per
introduced a low-emissions 30 minutes (up to a maximum of Bicycles for public hire near the
zone, indicated by the word €15 for 24 hours). Hofgarten in Berlin

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