Tariff zones, regions & fare categories
Tariff zones, cells and short journeys form the basis for calculating prices in the network area. A tariff zone generally comprises a city or several small towns / districts and is constituted of one of more cells. Each connection within the VRR area is allocated a price category. In addition to short journeys there are the price categories A, B, C and D. Children under the age of seven generally travel for free. Discounted ticket prices are available for children from the ages of seven to 14.
Documents about the tariff and tickets
The interconnected space
Here you can find an overview of the price levels
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With a short-distance ticket, you can usually travel three stops or 1.5 kilometres from your boarding stop. It is valid for 20 minutes from the time of validation, exclusively for direct journeys. You can only use short-distance tickets on buses, trams and underground trains, but not on regional express trains, regional trains or suburban trains.
Price level A usually applies to journeys within a city.
- A1 in smaller towns and cities
- A2 in eleven larger cities or towns with a well-developed public transport network: Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Herne, Krefeld, Mönchengladbach, Mülheim, Neuss/Kaarst, Oberhausen, Remscheid, Solingen
- A3 in five major cities with very dense and particularly high-quality local transport services: Bochum, Dortmund, Essen, Düsseldorf and Wuppertal
In fare stage B, you choose a central tariff zone from which you can then travel to the directly adjacent tariff zones. Keep in mind that the central tariff zone does not have to be the tariff zone where you live.
With price level C, you cover the medium travel distances. You can choose between 19 different regions in the interconnected area.
With tickets at price level D, you can travel throughout the entire network area.
Beyond the VRR borders
For journeys that go beyond the VRR, regulations that deviate from the VRR tariff apply. Here, VRR has set up transitional arrangements with neighbouring partners in the form of Kragentarifs:
- Aachen Transport Association (AVV)
- Rhine-Sieg Transport Association (VRS)
- WestfalenTarif
The Kragentarifs do not generally cover the entire interconnected areas, but are tailored according to relevant traffic flows. Some principles apply to all Kragentarifs:
- For journeys that remain within a tariff zone, only the tariff of the corresponding association or transport community applies.
- In both adjacent tariff zones, tickets are sold through the existing distribution channels.
With the EinfachWeiterTicket NRW you can travel simply and easily throughout NRW (VRR, AVV, VRS, WT), provided you have a season ticket or a network-wide KombiTicket from VRR, AVV, VRS or WT or a season ticket from the NRW tariff. You can find more information on the EinfachWeiterTicket NRW here.
Tariff information for journeys between the associations
Tariff information for journeys between the associations
The VRS tariff applies for cross-border journeys in the defined collar area. Click now and call up the brochure VRR and VRS verbinden - Tarifinformationen für Fahrten zwischen den Verbünden (1,11 MB - PDF)!
The AVV tariff applies for cross-border journeys in the defined collar area. Click now and call up the brochure Kragentarif AVV - VRR (432 KB - PDF).
There are two options for the transition between VRR and the WestfalenTarif. Firstly, you can travel from all tariff areas in VRR to the following tariff areas in the WestfalenTarif with a VRR ticket:
- Bergkamen
- Bocholt
- Borken
- Heiden
- Holzwickede
- Isselburg
- Kamen
- Lünen
- Raesfeld
- Reken
- Rhede
- Schwerte
- Unna
In addition, the VRR tariff also applies between these areas when travelling in at least one VRR area.
The WestfalenTarif applies to cross-connection journeys between the entire WestfalenTarif (with the exception of the above-mentioned WestfalenTarif tariff areas) and the following VRR tariff areas:
- Datteln/Oer Erkenschwick
- Dortmund Mitte/West
- Dortmund East
- Hagen
- Haltern on the lake
- Schwelm/Ennepetal/Gevelsberg/Breckerfeld
- Waltrop
- Witten/Wetter/Herdecke
Click now and call up the VRR and WestfalenTarif - Tickets for bus and rail (906 KB - PDF) brochure!