Katowice,  together with 40 nearby cities and municipalities,  is part of The Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia and the Dąbrowa Basin, also called Silesian Metropolis.

The city is very well connected with other parts of the region and traveling by public transport across the city is fast and convenient. We highly recommend this way of commuting.

Means of transport

The public transport in Katowice consists of

• buses
• trams 
• trains

City bikes are also available.

Buses and trams

The operator of the public buses and trams is ZTM company, with its characteristic magenta logo on every means of transport. 

The bus and tram network is widely spread so you’ll surely have a stop nearby. Even in small villages in the Metropolis there is at least one bus stop.   

The fleet of vehicles is constantly upgraded for more ecological and comfortable buses and trams.

Types of tickets:

• paper 
• electronic (on ŚKUP card or via mobile app)

Paper ticket

Paper tickets can be bought in the ticket machine at the bus stop. Unfortunately, non all the stops have them, so it’s better to have a plan B. Tickets are also available at the post office, in kiosks, and directly from the driver.

To validate the paper ticket in the bus or tram, you must insert it in the ticket counter slot, and the ticket will be overprinted with a date and hour stamp.

Apps

Short-term and medium-term tickets can be bought in a paper version and in an electronic version. The electronic version is 0.40/0.20 PLN cheaper. 

There are four apps: Skycash, Jakdojadę, mPay, moBilet and all of them can be downloaded on both Android and iOS devices.

ŚKUP Card

The Silesian Public Services Card is one card for several services: public transportation, parking, sports, and cultural institutions, and many more.

Types of tickets:

• short-term tickets
• medium-term tickets
• long-term tickets

Short-term tickets

They are valid for all lines with the possibility of transfer, except express lines to the airport:

• 1 city / 20 minutes – single travel within one city or max. 20 minutes ride 
  • normal ticket – 4.60 PLN
  • reduced ticket – 2.30 PLN
• 2 cities / 40 minutes – single travel between two cities or max. 40 minutes ride 
  • Normal ticket – 5.60 PLN
  • reduced ticket – 2.80 PLN
• 3 cities / 90 minutes – single travel among three or more cities or max.  90 minutes ride 
  • normal ticket – 6.60 PLN
  • reduced ticket – 3.30 PLN

Medium-term tickets

• Daily ticket – valid from the activation time till 11:59 PM of the same day (not valid in express airport lines) 
  • normal ticket – 12 PLN
  • reduced ticket -6 PLN

Long-term tickets

Valid only in electronic form on ŚKUP card, available for 7, 30, 90, or 120 days. 
If you need more information check the ZTM website.

Reduced tickets

From the beginning of 2018 children and youth up to 16 years of age and living in the area of Metropolis and people over 70 years old can use public transport free of charge. The only requirement is to have a personalized ŚKUP card. More information about the ŚKUP card can be found below.

Youth over 16 and students up to 26 have a 50% discount (reduced tickets).

Trains

Kolejne Śląskie [Silesian Railways] is a train operator within only (or rather mostly) our Silesia province. The company has its own ticket system and ticket offices.

Tickets

You can buy a ticket:

• online, 
• at the train station, 
  • in ticket machines with Koleje Śląskie logo, 
  • at a counter,
• on the train from the ticket inspector (here the ticket can be more expensive)

Prices vary based on the length of travel – you must put the starting station and the ending station. 

Koleje Śląskie offers many types of tickets:

• one way tickets for a chosen route
• round-trip tickets
• monthly tickets
• for a chosen train line

and many more.

Tickets are checked by the inspector who goes through the train after every stop and checks the tickets. At that moment you can buy a ticket from the inspector.

The train network

The northernmost train stop in the Koleje Śląskie network in Silesia is Częstochowa (S1 line). On the other hand, the southernmost train stop is Zwardoń (S5 line), right next to the border with Slovakia.

Line S8 connects Kluczbork (in the Opolskie Voivodeship) with Oświęcim (Małopolskie Voivodship), but most of the lines goes through Silesia and Katowice. 

With Koleje Śląskie you go to Krakow and Zakopane as well.

Here you can find the map of all lines.

Metroticket

It’s one ticket for all public transport including express airport lines and trains – Koleje Śląskie. 

It’s probably the best option if you want to freely travel across the Metropolis with public transport.

Types of tickets

Monthly metrotickets for a chosen area: 

• Katowice Zone – valid in the black zone – the city of Katowice
  • normal ticket – 159 PLN / month
  • reduced ticket – 79,50 PLN / month 
• Yellow, red, green, blue, orange – valid in the particular zone 
  • normal ticket – 220 PLN / month
  • reduced ticket – 110 PLN / month
• Whole GZM Metropolis – valid in the entire metropolis
  • normal ticket – 299 PLN / month
  • reduced ticket – 149,50 PLN / month

The metrotickets are available only on a personalized ŚKUP card. They can be purchased:

• via internet 
• in passenger service points, 
• in customer service points 
• in point of sales

If you want to know more check out the ZTM’s website.

ŚKUP card

As the ZTM informs: “Silesian Card of Public Services” is the common project of twenty-one municipalities belonging to the Katowice metro area and to KZK GOP. The card has many functions. It’s used as an urban transport ticket. It can be used to pay for parking spaces, in libraries, sports, and cultural institutions, and in city halls. ŚKUP may also be an electronic signature carrier”.

Types of the card:

• personalized – contains the identification data of the user. It can be used only by the card owner
• non-personalized – does not contain personal data. It may be used by anybody who has the card at the moment

Personalized 

• can be ordered online or at a customer service point
• to fulfil the application you’ll need to give some personal information and provide a photo
• the cost of the card is 20 PLN and will be later transferred to your ŚKUP card

Non-Personalized 

• can be bought without any additional formalities at: 
  • passenger service points
  • customer service points
  • ticket machines 
  • ŚKUP card charging (kiosks marked with the ŚKUP logo)
• The cost is 5 PLN deposit which will be later returned 
  • The confirmation of card issuance should be kept

For more information go to ŚKUP website.

City bikes

The network consists of over 622 bikes spread over 76 stations in Katowice. To access the bike you must register on the city by bike website, and pay the minimum 10 zł of the initial fee. 

The first 15 minutes are free, then you pay up to 4 PLN for each hour. 

To rent a bike, go to the nearest bike station, provide your phone number and PIN, and follow the instructions on the screen. The bike is released automatically. 

The city bikes are available 24/7.

To find out more check out their website: https://citybybike.pl/en/how-does-it-work/