Poland is a country that is friendly towards outsiders. Unfortunately, the souvenir you take home from our country might occasionally be... a penalty fine. To avoid this, just make sure you are aware of a few rules which everyone has to obey, regardless of where they come from.

Public transportation tickets

Where can I buy a ticket?

Passengers on public transport need to buy a ticket.

Tickets are sold in almost all news kiosks. Visitors should remember that in Poland the same tickets are used on different kinds of transport – there are no separate tickets for buses, trams or the metro.

In some larger towns tickets can also be bought from the driver (for a higher price) or from special machines situated within the vehicles or at metro stations.

For travelling without a ticket or without a document proving entitlement to a reduced fare, a large fine can be imposed by employees of the municipal transport company (MPK), who are identified only by means of an ID card which they are obliged to show before inspecting tickets (they do not wear uniforms).

What types of tickets are there?

In Poland, the types of ticket used in a particular town depend on the municipal transport company. This means that some towns have tickets which remain valid for a specific length of time, while others do not.

This type of ticket (valid for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, one day, 24 hours etc.) can be used to travel by different modes of transport (for example, you can change from a bus to a tram) within the allotted time period. When the ticket is stamped in the cancelling machine, the time is printed on the ticket. A ticket of this type should only be stamped once.

In other towns single-journey tickets are used, or else both types are available.