Austria Travel Guide

Austria's Bahnbus and Postbus system fills most of the gaps left by the rail network. As a general rule, Bahnbus services (run by the ÖBB) depart from train stations, and Postbus services (run by the post office) stop outside the post office, though often either service calls in at both.

Bus fares work out slightly cheaper than train fares, costing around öS130/€9.45 per 100km; along routes served by both forms of transport, however, you'll find that trains are almost invariably quicker. Buses come into their own on routes serving out-of-the-way, alpine villages, where they constitute a valuable lifeline for the local community, carrying mail as well as ferrying the local kids to and from school. Indeed, bus timetables often reflect the needs of the school day, with a flurry of departures in the early morning and early afternoon, compared to fewer services later in the day. Generally, bus services are less frequent on Sundays and public holidays, and in some areas cease altogether on these days.

Bus schedules ( Fahrpläne ) for a particular route are usually displayed at bus stops ( Bushaltestelle ); larger towns will have a bus station ( Busbahnhof , usually next to either the post office or the main train station), where a complete range of arrivals and departures is listed. A full timetable ( Kursbuch ) covering the whole of Austria is available for öS250/€18.17 from the ticket windows at bus stations, but it's divided into five volumes (each covering a separate geographical region) and weighs a ton; individual volumes are sold for öS75/€5.45 or less, depending on the region covered. Happily, free booklets containing local timetables are often available from both bus stations and tourist offices.

Tickets are usually bought from the bus driver, although it's possible to buy them in advance from the ticket window at a bus station. Twenty-four-hour travelcards ( Tageskarten ) for a particular route or zone are often cheaper than buying individual return tickets. A Tageskarte can usually be bought from the bus driver, though travelcards of longer duration ( Netzkarten ) must be purchased from the ticket office of a bus or train station.