Mobility

Deutsche Bahn connects large as well as small cities (local, regional and long distance). If you travel by train frequently, it might be worth buying a BahnCard. The BahnCard 25 saves you 25 percent of the fare, and with the BahnCard 50 you save half. There are also weekly or monthly options, regional options (e.g. Niedersachsenticket), discounts for groups and early booking as well as other offers (e.g. day ticket for Germany – Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket).

Always be sure to travel with a valid ticket (it will be checked on the train) and be sure to buy your ticket before boarding the train. Tickets are available online, at the ticket office or from the ticket machines at the station. Seat reservations are not essential, but are recommended on public holidays.

• Deutsche Bahn Travel Service

A cheap and popular alternative to the train is the long-distance bus. The providers have significantly expanded their routes in recent years. In Göttingen, the long-distance buses leave from the Central Bus Station (near the train station) or the Am Kaufpark bus station (near the Autobahn).

Employees of the University of Göttingen can receive a company subscription (Firmen-Abo) at a reduced price and use the entire VSN local public transit network.

• Information on applying for a company subscription

Local public transit (ÖPNV) in Göttingen: the city bus

In Göttingen, the Göttinger Verkehrsbetriebe (GöVB) operate 13 bus lines and 8 additional night bus lines. Tickets can be bought from the bus driver, in some shops and tobacconists (advance booking offices) or at the GöVB Customer Centre (Groner Straße 40).

• Route map
• Route map – night buses
• Overview of the route network
• Electronic timetable information Transit Association of Lower Saxony (VSN)
• Fares
• Advance booking offices for tickets

Local public transit (ÖPNV) in the region of Süd-Niedersachsen: Regional bus & Regional train

Regional public transit is organized by the Verkehrsverbund Süd-Niedersachsen (VSN) – an association of 11 bus companies and 4 rail companies. The area covered by the VSN includes the districts of Göttingen, Northeim, Holzminden and the city of Göttingen. In total, more than 4000 stops are served on over 3100 kilometres of route.

• Verkehrsverbund Süd-Niedersachsen timetable information
• Fares
• VSN Service Center (Bahnhofsplatz 5)

Taxis in Germany are rather expensive. Most people only use taxis in special situations, for instance, when travelling at night or if you have a lot of luggage. Taxis will charge a basic fee, plus additional charges for distance travelled and time spent waiting in traffic. All taxis are equipped with a taxi meter that runs for the entire journey. In the city, there are taxi stands where you can take a taxi. In Göttingen, you will find taxi stands at the main train station and in the city centre at the Markt. Please always go to the frontmost car in the queue. Alternatively, you can call a taxi company and order a taxi. It is not common to hail a cab on the street in Göttingen, although it is done in larger cities.

An alternative to local and long-distance public transit is ride-sharing. Private individuals offer car rides online to find fellow travellers and carpool. The passengers pay a fare that they agree on with the driver beforehand. The ride-sharing websites only act as an intermediary, and do not guarantee the quality of the ride. After the ride, the passengers can rate the driver using a rating system. The best-known ride-sharing service is Blablacar.

The German traffic infrastructure is very well-developed. Renting a car is an alternative if you appreciate the advantages of a private vehicle but only need it for a short while or want to avoid the running costs and responsibility of owning a vehicle.

Driving licence Car-sharing Car rental

Cycling is very popular in Germany, especially for travelling short distances (e.g. within the city or between nearby towns). Especially when the weather is nice, you will see many cyclists. Many streets have well-developed cycle paths, which make it easy to cycle safely. Göttingen is a cycle friendly city, with many cycle paths, bicycle boulevards (Fahrradstraßen) and a bike freeway (Radschnellweg). Make sure to ride with lights on when it is dark! This is the law and is regularly checked by the police in cities. Be sure to observe all traffic laws. You will be ticketed for travelling against traffic on a one-way street, for instance. We also recommend wearing a bicycle helmet.

• Fahrradstadtplan Innenstadt
• Radfahren in Göttingen

Bicycle rental in Göttingen

Thanks to its central location, Göttingen has good connections to the following airports, which can be reached relatively quickly by train, bus or car: Frankfurt am Main, Hannover, Hamburg, Berlin, Paderborn-Lippstadt, Kassel-Calden and Leipzig-Halle.

Air travel causes more pollution than any other means of transportation. Choose your means of transport consciously or opt for compensation of the resulting CO2 emissions, e.g. with Atmosfair.