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| City Guide - Munich - Getting Around | ||
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Getting Around Public Transport The comprehensive transport network is run by the Münchener Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund GmbH (MVV), Thierschstrasse 2 (tel: (089) 41 42 43 44; website: www.mvv-muenchen.de), and consists of an integrated system of 20 Strassenbahn (tram) lines, 83 bus lines, 7 U-Bahn (underground) lines and 10 S-Bahn (suburban train) lines. The area covered by the MVV is divided into zones. All transport runs daily 0500-0100, with additional hourly services on night buses and trams 0100-0500. Tickets can be purchased from blue ticket machines marked with the MVV logo and from other ticket outlets. Tickets must be validated in blue Entwerter machines, marked with the letter 'E', on boarding (except on new trams, for which ready-validated tickets are available). Passengers found without a valid ticket are subject to a DM60 fine. A single fare is DM1.90 for a Kurzstrecke (short trip) or DM3.80 for one zone. Strips of ten tickets (Streifenkarten) are available for DM16; two strips must be validated for each zone travelled through. A one-day pass (Single-Tageskarte) costs DM9 for the central area and DM18 for the entire network. The Partner Ticket (DM28) is valid for up to five adults on the entire network. Three-day tickets for the central zone cost DM22. Taxis Taxis are usually beige Mercedes and can be safely hailed on the street. Taxi-München (tel: (089) 21610 or 19410) is the central dispatching service. The flat rate is DM5 if ordered by telephone or DM2 if entered at a taxi stand, plus DM2.45 for every kilometre travelled. Limousines Rent-a-limousine, Wintrichring 103 (tel: (089) 1799 8787), charges from DM93 per hour including the first 20 kilometres, plus DM1.90 for every additional kilometre. A minimum rent of three hours is obligatory. Alternatively, SEL Limousine Service, Neufahrner Strasse 5-9 (tel: (089) 3293 3222; e-mail: sel@limousines.de; website: www.limousines.de), charges from DM300 for three hours including 25 kilometres, plus DM2.80 for every additional kilometre. Driving in the City Traffic can be heavy and parking is often problematic. The most useful car parks include those at Karlsplatz and at Färbergraben. Drivers should note that trams always have priority in the city, although driving on their tracks is permissable and usually unavoidable. Buses have priority when leaving stops. Car Hire Drivers need to be at least 21 years to hire a category one car. Small cars like the Smart car can be hired at 18 years. The average price for a small car is DM90 plus DM40 insurance per day. There are numerous car hire firms, both at the airport and in the city. Hertz (tel: (089) 129 5001) and Avis (tel: (089) 126 0000) are major providers, and Autoverleih Sander (tel: (089) 348 046) a local representative. Bicycle & Scooter Hire Call A Bike (tel: (0800) 522 5522) provides a brand-new service: 2000 bikes are spread over Munich and are randomly left next to telephone booths. By ringing the (above) number a credit card account is set up and enables customers to release the electronically locked bike by the input of a personalized pin code. The bike can be used for up to 48 hours before being returned to any telephone booth. The appropriate fee is then deducted from the credit card. Charges are: DM1.80 flat rate, plus DM0.03 per minute, reduced to DM0.01 per minute after 7 hours. Once an account and pin code are set up, any available bike can be used at any time. Bikes can be hired in the ordinary way for DM25 per day from May to October at Radius Touristik in the Hauptbahnhof, near platform 31 (tel: (089) 596 113; website: www.radius-munich.com). Other places to try include Aktiv-Rad, Hans-Sachs-Strasse 7 (tel/fax: (089) 266 506) and Spurwechsel, Sankt-Martin-Strasse 9 (tel: (089) 692 4699). Allround Auto- und Motorradvermietung GmbH, Boschetsriederstrasse 12 (tel: (089) 723 2343), rents cars, motorbikes and scooters - cost: DM39 for 24-hour scooter hire. |
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