Tickets for public transport in Warsaw - a short guide

As rules around tickets differ from country to country, please find here a guide familiarising you with public transport tickets in the capital of Poland.

I focus on things that vary from what is common in other EU countries or are specific to Warsaw (when compared with other Polish cities)


1. The same tickets (so called ZTM tickets) are valid in buses, trams, underground, and some of the trains. (I stress some, you will find more information below in Trains)

There is no separate ticket type for night buses or 'fast' buses ('autobus przyspieszony').

Reduced tickets cost 50% of standard price (students are entitled category, you will find details in the article linked).


2. Ticket types

For getting from point A to B you can choose between:

- 20 minutes ticket, which is a ticket entitling you to travel for 20 minutes after validation. Within 20 minutes you can change as many times as you want and go back. It costs 3,4 PLN

To give you a better overview: with 20 minutes ticket it's possible to get e.g. from Palace of Culture and Science area to Rynek area; or from Dworzec Centralny to Stadion Narodowy; or from Centrum stop to Plac Zbawiciela; or from Centrum to Łazienki.

- a single ticket which in the first zone costs 4,4 PLN and is valid for (option 1) 75 minutes after validation (you can change as many times as you like) or (option 2) for a ride longer than 75 minutes but with only one means of public transport (without changing)

If you are going to travel around the city, there is: 

Day ticket (=24 hours ticket)

Important notice, especially for the Germans, where day tickets valid till e.g. 3 am or 6 am of the next day are popular: so called 'one-day ticket' (bilet dobowy) is a 24 hours ticket. So if you validate on 11.25 on August 8th you can use public transport till 11.25 on August 9th. It makes sense (financially) by 4-5 rides a day.

A weekend ticket for 24 PLN, prefect choice for tourists, is valid from Friday evening till Monday morning. 

The problem starts when you come to Warsaw for a week, or for a few non-weekend days, because there's a big gap between one-day and weekend ticket and 30 days ticket. My recommendation in such cases is a combination of one-day tickets with 20 minutes/single tickets.

In Warsaw there is no option to buy tickets in a 'set' (I do not know how it's called in Polish, so I have problem finding translation, in German it's Mehrfahrtenkarte, in Paris tickets bought "en carnet") - I mean: buying 10 tickets at once and paying a bit less for each.

There will be a separate post about Warszawska Karta Miejska (Warsaw City Card), which you need first to be able to buy ticket for 30 days or longer.


3. Buying tickets

As soon as you get off your train/coach and you see a ticket vending machine on your way, you'd better buy your ticket straight away. Why? Ticket distribution system in Warsaw is not that good (in comparison to e.g. Wrocław)

In Warsaw at many bus/tram stops there are no ticket machines (although you can expect them on big stops). On some buses/trams there are no ticket machines either. And even if there are, somemachines on the bus/tram accept only coins, some only cards. (There are instructions in English)

It is possible to buy a ticket by the driver but under certain conditions (as I never did, I don't know if drivers are very strict about the rules mentioned), and only one type, i.e. single ride tickets.

Tickets are available in kiosks/shops, but not in every single one, and not all types of tickets. 

It's possible to by tickets via mobile (I have never tried), but it seems not that quick and simple for a foreigner - some options are available only for Polish numbers, some require downloading an application beforehand.

Here you can find more information on mobile tickets below (only in Polish):
http://www.ztm.waw.pl/?c=514&l=1
http://www.ztm.waw.pl/?c=515&l=1
http://www.ztm.waw.pl/?c=518&l=1


4. Trains

Trains are tricky in Warsaw - I suppose that there are more train categories than in any other city in Poland.

SKM (Szybka Kolej Miejska - city rapid railway) is something like S-Bahn in Germany.

These trains have S and a number in the name (e.g. S2, which goes to the airport). In SKM trains the same tickets as in buses, trams and subway apply - e.g. if you buy 20 minutes ticket you can change between an SKM train and a bus within the 20 minutes' ticket validity.

Other train category is Koleje Mazowieckie (KM) and WKD. Here 20 minutes tickets or single tickets are not valid - you buy tickets at the railway stations (ticket vending machines are available as well)

But...(important notice)

If you have a day ticket, weekend ticket, 30 days ticket, 90 days ticket, you can use Koleje Mazowieckie and WKD trains within specific area (basically, all the places a typical tourist could go, are included in this area only exception might be Sochaczew, when you want to visit Żelazowa Wola). It's so called integrated ticket in the trains.

But... (another important notice)

Przewozy Regionalne (PR), Interregio (IR), TLK, EIC trains are something different than all mentioned above. There is completely separate ticket system, you buy tickets at the railway station (or online - recommended) and no ZTM ticket is valid.
If you have 24 hours ticket or 30 days ticket, and you want to go e.g. from Warszawa Zachodnia to Warszawa Wschodnia, do not get on the random train that just arrives, wait for KM or SKM train.

When you use Jakdojade portal to calculate the best route it includes everything ZTM (buses, trams, SKM, undergorund), KM trains, WKD trains and Przewozy Regionalne trains.

Never ask the Polish why there are so many types of trains - we do not know the answer either!