Ticket Types and Prices (to 30 Jun 2021)

Introduction to Bratislava's fare conditions

When buying tickets for the public transport in Bratislava, there are several different options to consider. The two common properties of all tickets are that they can be used for an unlimited number of journeys within their time validity and are valid for all routes* in their respective fare zones, including night routes.

Apart from public transport routes 1 to 212 and night routes N21 to N99, which are operated by Dopravný podnik Bratislava, the primary municipal transport operator, all tickets sold by IDS BK (Integrated Transit System of the Bratislava Region) are also valid on local trains (category Os) and regional express trains (category REx) operated by ZSSK and regional bus routes 215 to 740 operated by Slovak Lines bus company in fare zones of the Bratislava region. Exceptions are SMS tickets, single-trip ticket on contactless bank cards (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro) and prepaid tickets on bank cards, which are only valid on municipal routes 1 to 212 and night routes N21 to N99.

Short-term tickets

Single-trip paper & electronic tickets

These tickets can be purchased in a paper or electronic form (in the IDS BK app). The benefit of paper tickets is their guaranteed validity – this means that if a direct journey with no transfers is scheduled to take 15 minutes, it is enough to purchase a 15-minute ticket regardless of possible delays acquired during the journey. It is very important to be sure about the schedule. This does not apply to electronic tickets, but these offer a 10% discount compared to their identical paper alternatives.

There are several different time validity alternatives when purchasing single-trip tickets. The chart below shows all possible durations, numbers of zones and their prices.

Some of the tickets above cannot be purchased in ticket machines at public transport stops, yet all of them are available at operators' ticket offices, most news agencies and can also be purchased electronically, either directly in the vehicle right after boarding or at a platform right before getting on a train, by selecting a ticket on a nearby validator's touchscreen and touching an operator-activated card with enough credit on it, or in the IDS BK app for iOS and Android by selecting a ticket and paying by credit or debit card right in-app. When buying tickets in the app, it is strongly recommended to proceed the payment at least a minute before boarding.

The validity of single-trip tickets depends on time and the number of fare zones visited. The passenger can use all means of transport, including buses, trolleybuses, trams and local or regional trains (but not fast trains) of all operators, but may not exceed the number of zones the ticket is valid for.

Fare zone 100 sometimes counts as two fare zones. When only zones 100 and 101 are visited, this does not have to be taken into consideration, but if the passenger visits another zone (number 200 or greater), zone 100 has to be counted as two zones to the total visited zones count. For example, when commuting from zone 100 to zone 215, a four-zone ticket is required, even though only three zones (100, 101 and 215) are visited.

Also, due to fair treatment of short-distance commuters, single-zone tickets are not available in neither paper nor electronic form.

SMS tickets

An SMS ticket is a simple fare option, which allows the passenger to purchase a single-trip ticket directly on their mobile phone by sending a text message according to the following instructions.

These tickets are only valid on routes operated by Dopravný podnik Bratislava (apart from route 801), 24 hours a day, within fare zones 100 and 101. Additionally, it includes luggage fare, which would have otherwise had to be paid separately. Unfortunately, no reduced fare is available for SMS tickets.

The passenger must receive an SMS back with a specific ticket code before boarding – the SMS ticket is not valid until then. Please note that this may take up to several minutes, but it usually takes about a minute. In case the ticket has not been delivered within 2 minutes, it may be beneficial to send any character to 1101 to receive a duplicate ticket. This is also neccessary if the passenger accidentally deletes the SMS with the ticket.

Note: most foreign cellular connection providers will not support this service. In such case, it is neccessary to purchase a regular ticket or purchase the SMS ticket from a number registered at a Slovak cellular connection provider.

During a ticket inspection, the passenger is asked to show the ticket inspector their returning SMS. This message must be delivered directly from the service provider. It is possible to purchase multiple tickets for two or more passengers by sending a desired number of messages to one of the aforementioned numbers. Importantly, a passenger with insufficient mobile phone battery level is considered to have no ticket at all. It is not possible to show an returning message that would have been valid at the time of the inspection.

All-day tickets

These tickets can also be purchased in a paper or electronic form. The electronic form, apart from offering a 10% discount compared to its identical paper alternative, it is more reliable for longer periods of time, as paper tickets may tear, moisten or get lost more easily.

The 24-hour ticket for 3.50 € can also serve as a family ticket on Saturdays, Sundays and other non-working days. The single ticket is valid for up to two adults and up to three children, but at least one of each has to be present. The ticket is not valid for two adults with no children, neither is it valid for two or more children with no adults.

The 72- and 168-hour tickets (3- and 7-day tickets) cannot be purchased in ticket machines at public transport stops, yet it is available at operators' ticket offices, most news agencies and can also be purchased electronically, along with the 24-hour options, either directly in the vehicle right after boarding, or at a platform right before getting on a train, or in the IDS BK app for iOS and Android. When buying tickets in the app, it is strongly recommended to proceed the payment at least a minute before boarding.

The 168-hour ticket can also be purchased in the form of a 7-day prepaid ticket, which is slightly cheaper.

Long-term tickets

Prepaid tickets

Prepaid tickets are the most effective option for passengers who travel regularly. They can either be purchased for a specific person for their basic price, or for any single person, which is more expensive. Within the duration of the prepaid ticket, the passenger may travel unlimitedly by any means, including both municipal transport (city buses, trolleybuses and trams) and regional transport (regional buses and trains of categories Os and REx within the owner-defined fare zones.

Apart from operators' ticket offices, prepaid tickets can also be purchased on the internet.

The fare policy of all prepaid tickets is based around a common principle – the longer the time validity, the lower the price per day. The chart below shows an example of the daily price decrease for different time validities.

Similarly to non-prepaid tickets, full fare prepaid tickets are available for everyone regardless of their age or health conditions and for students up to the age of 25, adults over the age of 62 and people with health disabilities, a reduced fare is available, which offers a 50% discount on prepaid tickets. Citizens over the age of 70 have a right for being issued a SeniorPas, a free-of-charge 365-day all-zone ticket. Bratislava City Card holders are offered an additional 10% discount from the price of the prepaid ticket.

Even though single-trip and all-day tickets do not have their zones explicitely specified, that is not the case with prepaid tickets, which have to be bought with exact specifications for fare zones. Each prepaid ticket has its valid fare zones, which are defined by the owner when purchasing the ticket, and it is not valid in other zones.

The full fares of prepaid tickets for a specific person can be found in the following table.

For passengers, whom the reduced fare applies to (children, students, elderly people), reduced fares are available as follows.

Prepaid tickets can also be purchased to be used by any specific person, one at a time. The slightly higher prices of these can be found in the table below.

Note: there is no reduced fare available for tickets not specified to an exact person.

* This applies to fare zones numbered 200 and higher. Neither zone 100 nor zone 100 can be purchased alone.

Other types of tickets

International tickets for route 801

For a journey to Rajka, a Hungarian village, special tariff applies. One-way full fare ticket costs 1.50 €, a return ticket costs 2.90 €. Reduced fare ticket (for students up to 26 years or seniors above 60 years, verification card required) is 0.75 € (one-way) or 1.45 € (return). Children under 6 years of age can commute on route 801 for free. Baggage fee is 0.75 €, animal fee is 1.50 €. Tickets for route 801 can only be bought only from the bus driver.

Luggage fare

For commuters travelling with luggage, a separate luggage ticket is required. Such tickets are sold in yellow or red ticket machines on most stops, at operators' ticket offices and most news agencies for 0.35 € – they are exactly the same tickets as the reduced fare ones for 15 minutes, except – they are valid for 180 minutes in all zones.

Such tickets are also neccessary for animals and bicycles. They are not valid in trains, though – for railway travel, they must be purchased directly from the train operator.

Fare types and discounts

The default fare available for everyone regardless of their age or health conditions is the full fare. For specific age categories and people with health disabilities, a reduced fare is available, which offers a 50% discount on all tickets. It is neccessary to show a verification card during a ticket inspection. The chart below describes the types of passengers, for whom the reduced fare is available.

Additionally, children up to 5 years of age (incl.) are allowed to travel on the public transport for free.

Ticket sale points

Not all types of tickets can be purchased everywhere. The chart below illustrates ticket availablity for different types of tickets via different means.

Dopravný podnik Bratislava's ticket offices

The chart below shows locations and opening hours* of Dopravný podnik Bratislava's ticket offices.

Note: all ticket offices are closed on Sundays, also, temporary changes of opening hours are being published on Dopravný podnik Bratislava's website.

* It is neccessary to find a conductor and ask for a ticket as soon as possible.

Fines

If a commuter is unable to show a valid ticket, they will be requested to pay a fine for disobeying the fare conditions of Bratislava's municipal transport system. If a ticket inspection is launched, the ticket validators are out of service and tickets can be neither purchased nor validated. The entire inspection process is recorded.

The passenger has to pay the price of a full fare 15-minute ticket (0.70 €) plus:

• 50.00 € for travelling without a valid ticket
• 5.00 € for not being able to show any verification for reduced fare
• 5.00 € for not paying additional fares for luggage, animals or bicycles

All fines can be paid directly in the vehicle by cash or a debit card. If none of these options are possible for the passenger, they have to show a valid ID card to the ticket inspector and will be issued a document requesting the payment. This can be done:

• At Dopravný podnik Bratislava headquarters at Olejkárska 1 by cash or debit card
• In select ticket offices (at Hlavná stanica, the main railway station, and in the public subway at Hodžovo námestie)

Note: the 50.00 € fine will be raised to 70.00 € if not paid within 10 days after the fine had been issued.