The Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB want to attract more travellers with more attractive rail fares. But also faced with a sharp rise in traffic, ÖBB wants to better manage booking flows. Hence the incentive for future customers to book earlier.
The new rule that will apply from 1 July is as follows. Any passenger booking a ticket on ÖBB website or app between 180 and 15 days before departure will benefit from lower fares. From 14 to one day, the price rises slightly before reaching its highest rate less than 24 hours before departure.
Fares will also be higher if purchased at the station. -At a ticket office or automatic ticket machine. The ÖBB gives the price of a ticket for Vienna-Salzburg as an example. Currently priced at 56.80 euros, it will be offered at 55.70 euros from 1 July with the new fares. A surcharge of €3.40 will apply if the ticket is purchased at the station.
In 2019, the ÖBB carried more than 477 million passengers - a record for a country with a population of nine million! That's up to 1.3 million passengers a day. Last year, due to strict Covid-related confinements, ÖBB passenger traffic fell to 287 million.
