Tap and go in Berlin? Paris? Bruges?

We bought tickets from machines for the U-bahn, S-Bahn and trams in Berlin this last May.

Bruges is serviced by the company De Lijn (buses and trams). Contactless pay (tap on only, not tap off) is available for all De Lijn buses and trams. In Bruges you will probably only catch a bus twice, once from the station to the centre, and once on the way back. There used to be a free shuttle from the station for local shoppers, not sure if that is still a thing.

Lavandula

Hi, Dianejay.

Without tap-and-go, Berlin operates on an “honour” system; a passenger will have a valid ticket before boarding any mode of public transport. Fare inspectors (occasionally) roam the system; I’ve seen them mostly on trams and trains.

U- and S-Bahn stations will have ticket machines. For convenience on mobile, you can purchase tickets on the BVG Fahrinfo app, the BVG Tickets app, or the BVG Jelbi app (bikes, e-scooters). The apps are available from Apple and Google, and each app should allow the user to switch the language to English, if desired.

To buy tickets within any of the BVG apps, you’ll register for an account with a valid e-mail address. You can then select a payment method with a credit card, Apple Pay, or PayPal. There’s debit, but I believe that’s only European banks using SEPA.

Germany (Switzerland and Austria as well) operate public transit a bit differently than you may be used to.

In these countries you do not pay "per ride", you pay for usage of the entire system in a given area for a given duration. You cannot buy a bus or a subway ticket in Berlin. All you can buy is for example a ticket for "1 hour in zone A".

The prices are set in a way that you quite quickly end up with a day pass or a multi day pass as the best option. So you just buy a multi day pass for the days you are there, and keep it in your pocket (or on your phone) unless a ticket inspector asks for it...

Paris does not have tap-and-go.