The Rhein-Main transport association (RMV) is one of the largest transport associations in Germany and covers roughly central and southern Hesse including the city Mainz in Rhineland-Palatinate from.
Validity area
The Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund includes all of southern Hesse without the Bergstrasse district, central Hesse including the cities of Gießen, Marburg and Fulda, as well as the city of Mainz in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Transitional tariff zones exist in the following regions:
- the entire area of Transport community on the Bavarian Lower Main (VAB) in Bavaria, i.e. the greater Aschaffenburg area with Miltenberg
- Border regions in northern Hesse (including Korbach, Schwalmstadt, Bad Hersfeld) in North Hessian Transport Association (NVV)
- the district of Bergstrasse and selected cities near the border (including Worms, Laudenbach, Weinheim, Eberbach) in Rhein-Neckar transport association (VRN)
- the districts of Mainz-Bingen, Alzey-Worms (as far as in the RNN) and Bad Kreuznach in Rhine-Nahe public transport network (RNN)
- the town Bad Laasphe in the Westphalian tariff
- the town Geisa in the Wartburg region transport association (VGW)
In addition, there are some RMV lines that break out into neighboring federal states and can also be used there with RMV tickets, but these are rare exceptions (e.g. the regional buses to Hundsangen (Westerwaldkreis)) and regional buses to Nastätten and Regional trains to Diez Ost in the Rhein-Lahn district.
The RMV tariff generally applies to all trains, trams, underground trains and buses in the core tariff area. exception: The RMV tariff does not apply on the ferries over the Rhine and Main, not in cable cars and museum railways (e.g. Nerobergbahn in Wiesbaden) and not in the direct bus Frankfurt Airport - Darmstadt (AIR line). A few bus routes breaking into the RMV area are also excluded.
Line network
In the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund each district and each urban district does its own thing, so the route network is very different depending on where you are. The differences not only concern the naming of the lines (sometimes three-digit, sometimes two-digit, in the Darmstadt area bus lines are designated with letters), but also the density of journeys - while in the greater Frankfurt area the densest lines run every 5 minutes, there are in the Eastern Main-Kinzig-Kreis still communities in which no buses go and which are completely inaccessible by public transport. Another disadvantage is that lines often stubbornly stop at the county border and you have to continue on foot.
For a few years now, the RMV has been trying to supplement the network of bus routes with so-called express bus routes (marked with an X). These express bus routes even have it in an episode of the satirical broadcast extra 3 Made it because long-standing bus routes that run through 20 villages were simply renamed into an express bus route without further ado. You should therefore not expect such an express bus route to actually run faster than other bus routes.
Means of transport
Rail transport
- Regional Express (RE)
- Regional train (RB)
- S-Bahn (S)
city traffic
- Subway
- tram
- City bus
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Overland transport
- Regional bus
Night traffic
In Frankfurt there is a general one Night trafficThis can be used with all valid RMV tickets for the Frankfurt city area without surcharge. There are differences in the nights before working days on the one hand and in the nights before Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays on the other.
Night traffic from Monday to Friday:
- S 8
- City bus route 58 (Frankfurt (Main) Höchst train station - Frankfurt Airport regional train station)
- Night bus routes N1N2N3N4N5N6N7N8N41N62N63N65N71N72
Night traffic on the nights before Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays:
- S 1S 2S 3S 4S 5S 6S 7S 8
- Subway lines U4, U5, U7, U8
- City bus routes 282936294346545558596061626372
- Night bus routes N61N65N71N72N96
ferry
Several ferry lines operate in the area of the RMV, for example the Main ferry Frankfurt-Höchst, which between the landing stages Frankfurt-Höchst battery and Frankfurt-Schwanheim Highest way commutes, but this is not integrated into the RMV tariff.
Transition to long-distance transport
Long-distance passenger rail transport (SPFV)
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Long-distance train stations include:
- Frankfurt (Main) Central Station
- Frankfurt (Main) South
- Frankfurt (Main) Airport long-distance train station
- Frankfurt (Main) Airport Regional Train Station (Nightjet)
- Fulda
- Mainz main station
- Wiesbaden Central Station
- Hanau (individual long-distance trains)
- Darmstadt Central Station
- to water
- Limburg South
Long-distance bus transport
Long-distance bus stations include:
Air travel
Rates
- Single tickets
- Day tickets
- Mini group tickets for up to five people
- Weekly tickets
- Monthly passes
- 9 a.m. monthly tickets
- Annual tickets (monthly tickets by subscription)
- 9 a.m. annual tickets (monthly tickets by subscription)
The RMV tariff system even beats German tax law in its complexity, but in general the RMV is one of the most expensive transport associations in Germany (only surpassed by the HVV in Hamburg). Theoretically, the RMV has a zone tariff system, in practice, according to information from the RMV, there are exceptions to the tariff zones for 1000 route connections - and this number is not fictitious. In practice, you can only find out how much the journey costs using the RMV timetable information. The RMV is not included in the Deutsche Bahn tariff information and tickets cannot be purchased there (unlike some other transport associations).
In principle, there are seven price levels, price level 1 is used within a location, which can increase to a maximum of price level 3 within a tariff area. Some large tariff zones start higher (e.g. Frankfurt and Wiesbaden / Mainz for price level 3 or Offenbach for price level 2), although there are discounts in traffic within these cities.
A four-digit tariff area number is assigned to every location in the RMV, including certain special cases. The first two digits indicate the tariff area, the last two digits the tariff point in the tariff area (e.g. tariff area number 3060 Erlensee-Rückingen in tariff area 30 Hanau). Season tickets from price level 3 are generally valid for the entire tariff area, a distinction between tariff points is then superfluous (i.e. a monthly pass from 3060 Erlensee-Rückingen to 3001 Hanau allows travel to all tariff points in tariff area 30 Hanau)
If you cross a tariff area border, regardless of how long the route actually is, you reach price level 4. These price jumps are still the biggest criticism of the RMV because they can affect even the shortest route connections (e.g. a single stop from Frankfurt-Oberrad to Offenbach; an exception now also applies to this specific example). With the number of tariff areas traveled through, the price level increases further up to the highest price level 7; Season tickets of this price level are valid in the entire RMV area without transitional tariff areas. The price level 7 is reached surprisingly quickly, namely already for a distance Hanau-Mainz, the more than twice as long distance Fulda-Mainz costs the same. For transitional tariff areas there is a separate price level 17, which only applies to the selected route. An overview map of all tariff areas and points in the RMV as well as a matrix for determining the price level for a journey between any two tariff areas is available on the RMV website, but due to the countless exceptions mentioned does not replace the timetable information in individual cases.
It becomes even more confusing when you consider that the fare for certain route connections also depends on which route you take. This is the journey from Frankfurt to Neu-Isenburg Significantly cheaper by tram than by S-Bahn, and for a trip from Frankfurt to Offenbach, two single tickets for the Frankfurt-Kaiserlei and Kaiserlei-Offenbach sections are overall cheaper than one ticket for the entire route. Sometimes even a detour that does not go via Frankfurt can be financially worthwhile because fewer tariff zones are passed through. Even more absurd, however, is the fact that as a Bahncard holder, an IC ticket from Deutsche Bahn is cheaper than an RMV ticket (e.g. Frankfurt-Wetzlar) for certain connections.
Recently, the RMV has been trying to moderate the large price jumps at tariff area boundaries by creating additional price levels, namely 30 (between 3 and 4) and 40 (between 4 and 5). In fact, this only increases the complexity of the tariff system, so for a trip to Frankfurt you now have to know in which district the desired destination is - a commuter may know that, the tourist will fall into a nasty trap here.
For season ticket holders, the tariff information on the RMV website is almost indispensable. Here you can find out not only the fare for a specific connection, but also the destinations for which the season ticket purchased in this way is still valid in addition to the direct route. Under certain circumstances, this can lead to significant surprises. It is interesting to note that a monthly pass for a destination that is significantly further away may cost the same as a monthly pass for a nearby destination. Example: a monthly pass Darmstadt-Frankfurt falls under price level 5, a monthly pass Darmstadt-Wiesbaden also falls under price level 5 and includes Frankfurt, so you can get a lot further with the same money.
City of Frankfurt
The RMV Tariff zone 50 covers the entire city of Frankfurt, including the airport. However, the tariff zone also applies to the city of Frankfurt excluding the airport 5000, for the airport area the zone 5090Attention: regular buses of the Frankfurt transport company operating on the airport premises, including Line 58, unlike the Skyline, is a public transport and not a private airport shuttle service, so a ticket must also be purchased for trips within the airport.
Tariffs for Frankfurt and the airport 2020:
Frankfurt, without airport, zone 5000 or only Frankfurt airport, zone 5090:
- Single trip adults: € 2.75, children: € 1.55
- Short distance, up to 2 kilometers: adults: € 1.50, children: € 1.00
- Day ticket one person: adults: € 5.35, children: € 3.00
- Mini group day ticket for up to five people: € 11.50
- Weekly pass: € 26.50 is valid in both zones
- Monthly ticket: € 91.80 is valid in both zones
- 9 a.m. monthly ticket: € 73.40 is valid in both zones
- Annual ticket: € 918.00 (12 x € 76.50) is valid in both zones
- 9 a.m. Annual ticket: € 733.80 (12 x € 61.15) is valid in both zones
- Hessenticket: € 35.00 is valid for a maximum of five people on all public transport in Hesse
- Quer-Durch-Land-Ticket: One person: € 44.00, another € 08.00 per passenger (max. Four passengers) is only valid for rail transport (S-Bahn, RB and RE)
Ticket purchase
The following tickets are available from RMV:
- Single tickets: In the RMV, these are generally valid for the immediate start of the journey and cannot be purchased in advance; consequently there are no validators.
- Group tickets (Wiesbaden / Mainz only): In the greater Wiesbaden / Mainz area, collective tickets in blocks of 5 can be bought at the ticket machines, which are only valid for the local tariff area and must be validated when you start your journey on the bus. The collective tickets are cheaper than regular single tickets, but are only worthwhile for occasional public transport users and less for tourists.
- daily ticket: Apply until the end of the current day. The day ticket is often cheaper than two single tickets for the return journey, which bus drivers tend to keep quiet about. The desired day of validity can be selected in advance (up to 4 weeks into the future) at machines and in the mobility centers; this also applies to weekly and monthly tickets.
- Group day ticket (for up to 5 people): Already financially worthwhile as a couple, especially with children.
- Weekly card: applies for seven consecutive days.
- Monthly pass: applies from the first day of the validity period up to and including the same day of the next month (e.g. March 28 to April 28).
- annual pass: Rather uninteresting for tourists, an annual pass costs as much as ten monthly passes and is valid from the first day of the validity period until the same day in the following year. Annual tickets are both impersonal and personalized; they can only be purchased in the mobility centers and not at ticket machines or on buses. If the entire amount is paid in cash on site, a discount will be deducted (strange).
- Hessenticket: It is only financially worthwhile for very long journeys or trips outside the transitional tariff zones (e.g. to Kassel), otherwise the group day ticket is cheaper. The Hessenticket is the only country ticket to be sold on all buses and at all ticket machines. Valid for up to five people in the entire state of Hesse, in the city of Mainz and selected cities near the border in non-Hesse countries. The compulsory writing down of all passengers is rather unrealistic with the small format of usual bus tickets.
Who one Connecting ticket for his season ticket has a problem at RMV. Because, as already mentioned, these cannot be bought in advance. So you have to go to the last stop for which the season ticket is valid and buy the connecting ticket there - with train connections this means getting off and waiting for the next train, which in the worst case only comes in an hour, bus drivers are much more accommodating. In fact, this means that season tickets are massively devalued, not only, but above all for tourists.
Short distance tickets are only available in selected cities (Frankfurt, Offenbach, Wiesbaden / Mainz and Hanau) and are generally valid up to the 3rd stop. They only make sense in Frankfurt with its extensive S-Bahn and U-Bahn network, in other cities it is not advisable to buy.
At Call taxis In addition to the usual fare, the transport companies can demand a public transport deterrent surcharge with the euphemism "comfort surcharge"; however, some transport companies voluntarily refrain from this bad habit. The fact that other companies refer to a chargeable service hotline to order a call taxi is simply outrageous.
There are discounted tickets for children traveling alone (under 15 years of age); children under 6 years of age generally travel free of charge. Child transport policy: If you have a weekly or monthly ticket, you can take any number of children under the age of 15 with you free of charge in the evenings from 7 p.m., on weekends, public holidays and Christmas Eve / New Year's Eve. The regulation is usually not worthwhile for tourists, except for single-parent tourists who then actually only need one ticket for the entire clan. In Wiesbaden / Mainz The transport policy applies at all times, including during the week.
Since 2012, season tickets from the weekly ticket onwards should only be sold on an electronic ticket, the eTicket, which must be purchased in advance at the mobility centers at no additional cost. In practice, it is still possible to purchase weekly and monthly tickets in paper form on the buses, and the obligation to use an eTicket does not yet apply to the transitional tariff zones. The quality and experience of bus drivers when buying tickets, especially for very exotic travel destinations, fluctuates greatly and sometimes you are asked for your understanding and transported to the next ticket machine free of charge.
Buying tickets at train stations can be problematic because responsibility for the ticket machines was transferred to a new operator a few years ago. Since then, there are only very few (usually only one) machines at train stations that do not necessarily have to be on the platform where your own train stops. Although these machines offer the purchase of RMV and DB tickets, a connection is established via GSM for the latter so that it takes minutes for the user interface to load, usually the project simply fails due to a timeout.
- Across the country ticket The ticket is valid in the RMV area in local rail transport, i.e. in RE, RB and S-Bahn trains
- Rhineland-Palatinate ticket and Rhineland-Palatinate Luxembourg ticket Some of the tickets are also valid for rail transport in the RMV area
- Baden-Württemberg ticket
Timetables and network plans
The RMV is currently trying to summarize all timetables in the network area on its central website, even if these efforts are still in their infancy.
All train and bus timetables for the following urban and rural districts are currently available on the RMV website: City of Frankfurt, district of Gießen, district of Groß-Gerau, Hochtaunus district (excluding Bad Homburg), Lahn-Dill district, district of Limburg-Weilburg, Main -Taunus-Kreis, Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, Vogelsbergkreis, Wetteraukreis.
The timetables in other urban and rural districts have to be laboriously collected from the individual transport companies, but in some cases they are simply not published on the Internet (a big problem, especially in the Main-Kinzig district).
Park and Ride (PR)
There are park-and-ride facilities in the entire RMV area, where public transport users can change from their own vehicle, these are partly free and partly chargeable, but have very cheap parking fees, which are usually mandatory 24/7, a list applies it under [1].
Bike-and-Ride (B R)
- Bicycle hangers are located at and in the vicinity of many traffic stations in the RMV, these can be used free of charge.
- A Bike station at the Frankfurt Central Station is located in the basement of the parking garage next to the Long-distance bus station in the Stuttgarter Straße, this is chargeable and open daily from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- Another possibility are bicycle boxes, which are in the regions Frankfurt, Offenbach and Herborn as Great Gerau exist, but in contrast to bicycle racks and bicycle stations, these can only be rented permanently.
Bicycle transport
Cycles are transported free of charge in the entire RMV area, so there are no bike cards. Bicycles can also be taken on most city and regional buses, provided that the local conditions permit.
