Travel by bus, train, cab or ferry

Bonn is well connected: regional trains, light rail, streetcars, buses and ferries link the city with the surrounding area and the districts with each other. Many projects are being planned and implemented to make the connections even more attractive and to encourage more people to use public transport instead of their cars.

A map shows colorful lines of local transport connections on a city map. — To the SWB bus and rail network map for Bonn.

The transport sector is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in Bonn and also consumes a particularly large amount of energy. Bonn aims to become climate-neutral by 2035. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to reduce so-called motorized private transport with combustion engines - above all car traffic. This will noticeably improve life in the city: Bonn residents can look forward to better air and less traffic noise.

To achieve this, local public transport must become even more attractive, for example by using modern vehicles, improving the quality of services and information and providing barrier-free access to public transport. Stadtwerke Bonn is gradually converting its bus fleet to be environmentally friendly and barrier-free, the SWB depot in Friesdorf will become the central charging point for up to 250 electric buses and the diesel bus fleet is to be converted by 2035. Rental bikes or e-Scooter are available at many bus stops. Stronger connections to regional transport and its expansion will also play an important role.

In addition, Bonn is set to become the first city in Germany to have a cable car connecting several districts as an integrated part of its public transport system.

An app for Bonn: bus and train, rental bikes and a selection of e-scooters at a glance

BONNmobil - the mobility platform from SWB Bus und Bahn shows you in real time when the bus is coming, where the next Nextbike is waiting, the battery status of your e-scooter or how to get to the sights. All means of transport can be booked and paid for centrally using the app.

Public transport infrastructure projects at a glance: Bonn 2035+

Bonn already has an attractive local transport service today. But the city will continue to strengthen local transport - and significantly so: it is currently planning more local transport projects with the time horizon "2035+" than it has for decades. Regional transport is also being massively strengthened.

Press release: Summary of all projects

Current roadworks in regional transport

There is currently a lot to do in German rail transport to bring the infrastructure up to date. At the end of 2023, "go.Rheinland" (formerly Zweckverband Nahverkehr Rheinland) created a clear map for local and regional transport in the Rhineland, which shows all the construction measures with the greatest impact in 2023 and 2024.

Construction sites 2023 and 2024 (opens in a new tab)

Local transport in Bonn: buses, trams and light rail vehicles

Every year, SWB Bus und Bahn transports more than 90 million passengers on light rail vehicles, buses and also on joint routes with neighboring transport companies in Cologne and the Rhein-Sieg district.

The City of Bonn has a comprehensive public transport service, which is to be further strengthened by commissioning its subsidiary SWB Bus und Bahn (opens in a new tab). By updating the local transport plan, the city is ensuring that the right framework conditions are in place.

More than 50 percent of Bonn's local transport is already electric - the light rail and streetcar lines are powered 100 percent by green electricity.

In many cities - including Bonn - the air limits for nitrogen dioxide (NOx) have not been met in recent years. In 2018, the federal government therefore provided funding for model cities to improve air pollution control and show ways to avoid diesel driving bans. As part of this model project ("Lead City"), the city of Bonn focused on local public transport and tested, among other things, more frequent bus and train services. Following a decision by the Bonn City Council, these will remain in place and strengthen local public transport.

Bonn residents with a Bonn ID card receive a discount on the following tickets in the Bonn city area:

4-trip tickets for children in the short-distance and 1b price categories
4-trip ticket for adults, Mobilpass 1b
Monthly ticket for adults, Mobilpass 1b
Monthly subscription ticket (19-euro ticket), adults

These offers apply, among others, to recipients of:

Citizen's allowance (SGB II)
Benefits for basic security in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity as well as ongoing assistance with living expenses outside of institutions (SGB XII)
Standard benefits in accordance with the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act
Eligible Bonn citizens can apply for a Bonn ID card from the Office for Social Affairs and Housing of the City of Bonn, which is recognized as a MobilPass.
People whose monthly income does not exceed a fixed income limit may also be eligible for a Bonn ID card.

Detailed information on the tickets can be found on the SWB website (opens in a new tab).

Detailed information on the Bonn ID card and application forms can be found here.

Cheap tickets for school and training

The city also provides financial support for tickets for young people so that they can travel safely and cheaply on local public transport: trainees and all young people under the age of 15, schoolchildren and students can use monthly tickets on the education transport network. They are around 25 percent cheaper than season tickets for adults and are valid in the fare zones traveled through on the way between home and the place of training.

In cooperation with SWB Bus und Bahn, Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg also offers a SchülerTicket to all pupils attending a municipal or private school.

For pupils living in Bonn , the SchülerTicket at municipal schools costs a maximum of €19.00 per month,
For pupils living outside Bonn, it costs a maximum of €25.30 per month.
The SchülerTicket for the entire VRS network will cost a maximum of €40.10 per month in the 2023/2024 school year.

SWB Bus und Bahn (opens in a new tab) offers more information on tickets for school and education.

Further information on local transport and public transport tickets

Stops: well connected and increasingly barrier-free

A bus stops at a bus stop with plants growing on the roof to preserve biodiversity in the city.

SWB Bus and Bahn have created the first green, bee-friendly roofs on bus stops in Bonn.

Get off the bus, hop on a rental bike or a rental e-scooter - the city of Bonn is constantly improving the links between the different modes of transport. This allows Bonn residents to reach their destinations quickly and easily using public transport and environmentally friendly mobility options.

To this end, there are now so-called mobility stations at many locations in Bonn's city center, which are to be expanded throughout the city in the future. At some locations, passengers can rent bicycles, e-scooters and e-cargo bikes or park their bicycles securely in one of the lockable boxes and charge them if necessary. In addition, the batteries of e-bikes can also be charged separately in e-charging lockers at selected locations.

Anyone arriving with their own bike and boarding a train or bus to continue their journey should find more parking options at the stops in future. It will also be possible to take a bike on board the vehicles, with restrictions during peak times.

In future, a stationary car-sharing network will be linked to the mobile stations. This will make it possible to use a car without having to own one.

Barrier-free bus stop Buschdorf, bus stop. Photo: Martin Magunia for SWB Bonn.

More and more stops are being made barrier-free - including the stop in Buschdorf.

On the road to accessibility

Public transportation must be accessible to all. The expansion of barrier-free bus stops is progressing steadily. In the bus sector, accessibility is being achieved through the use of low-floor buses and the construction of bus stops with kerbs at least 18 centimetres high as well as guiding indicators. At bus stops that have not yet been converted, boarding and alighting is already possible thanks to the folding ramps in the buses. The stops for urban rail services will also be adapted to the necessary heights.

The city of Bonn and SWB Bus und Bahn have been working closely with the Bonn Disabled Community for many years.

There are around 500 stops in Bonn with around 1,000 stopping positions. Of these, around 43% are barrier-free (as of 2022). Barrier-free boarding and alighting is possible at all stops - the buses have folding ramps or are lowered towards the stop. However, this extends the stopping time. To ensure that local public transport can be used quickly and conveniently by everyone, all stops are to be made barrier-free.

The city administration has drawn up a priority program that provides for the expansion in the coming years.