After Landing
Using Public Transport on Your First Day
Tickets, passes, contactless payment, apps and etiquette. How to use an unfamiliar city's transport network with confidence.
An unfamiliar transport network looks impenetrable for about forty minutes and then becomes obvious. This guide is about shortening those forty minutes.
Work out the payment model first
Cities generally use one of four systems, and knowing which one you are in answers most other questions.
Contactless bank card. Tap in, tap out or just tap in, with fares capped daily in some cities. Increasingly common and the easiest option where it exists.
Stored-value smartcard. Buy a card, load money, tap. Usually needs a small refundable deposit and is worth it for stays over two days.
Paper or single tickets. Bought at machines or kiosks, sometimes validated in a small machine before boarding. Failing to validate is a fineable offence in many countries even with a valid ticket in your pocket.
Zone or time passes. Unlimited travel for a day, three days or a week. Do the arithmetic before buying - they are excellent value in some cities and a waste in compact ones you can mostly walk.
Get the right app
The official transport authority app is usually better than a general map app for live disruptions and ticket purchase. A general map app is usually better for planning door to door.
Download both, and download the offline map. Then check whether the city has a well-known third-party app that everyone actually uses, because in several cities that is the real answer.
Reading the system
- Lines are identified by number, colour or letter, and by their final destination
- Platform signage shows direction by terminus, not by "northbound" - know your terminus
- Interchange stations can be large; allow five to ten minutes for a change
- Night services often use different route numbers than daytime ones
- Airport services sometimes require a supplement even with a valid pass
Etiquette, briefly
Local norms vary and getting them wrong marks you out more than any map-reading will.
Common ones: let passengers off before boarding; stand on one side of escalators; keep bags off seats; keep phone conversations quiet or absent. In some countries, eating on transport is a serious faux pas. In others, nobody minds.
Priority seating is enforced socially and sometimes legally.
Luggage and rush hour
Arriving with suitcases during peak hours is unpleasant on any metro system. If you land at 8am on a weekday, consider a taxi to the accommodation, then use transport from the afternoon onwards.
Some systems have restrictions on large luggage or charge for it. Rare, but worth a check on the operator's site.
Safety and common sense
Public transport in most cities is safe and heavily used. Standard precautions apply: keep a bag closed and in front of you on crowded services, be aware around obvious tourist routes where pickpocketing concentrates, and use official taxi ranks late at night.
If you are unsure about an area or a late service, ask at your accommodation. Local staff give better answers than forums do.
Building the mental map
On day one, learn two things only: the line nearest your accommodation, and the station name you return to. Everything else can be looked up.
By day two you will be reading the diagram without thinking about it. Our city break planning guide covers how to structure the rest of the days around that.
