This is a common sight for anyone in Vienna. The VOR ticket machines. I’ve been checked THREE times in the last two weeks, which means that Wienerlinien are really stepping up their ticket controls now before Christmas.. I can go a month or two without being checked normally. Vienna is actually a REALLY affordable city in terms of public transport, or Öffis as the Austrians call it. To get an annual ticket will cost you about 32 Euro per month, which gives you access to buses, trams, s-bahn (regional trains, but only within the borders of Vienna city), and of course subways. I’ve never lived in a city this affordable and reliable. Yes it can be a bit shit if it snows a lot, but you’ll still make it! Which is pretty good in itself. On a normal day you can rely on the Öffis to get you to work within 20 minutes of your plan if you’re just winging it, and if you plan it to perfection you normally make it to your destination within 5 minutes of your plan. So yes… I may be annoyed with them sometimes (like when bus drivers smoke out the window of the buses on a cold day), but on the whole, I’m quite happy to be in a city where it’s this easy to not have a car. 🙂