Three days of riding the metro here in Düsseldorf. Subways, trams and even a bus! The Rheinbahn here in the city is great. The trains ran smoothly. They trains were clean. Tickets and passes can be purchased on board. The kiosks I encountered were easy to operate with instant translations to English and they allowed me to drain my pockets of small coins. Yes, I paid for one token with all 10c and 20c coins! Why not? The system is honor based and there are validation machines. I did not see any enforcement officers despite a dozen or so rides. For the trains that serve both above ground platforms and underground platforms, there was a pretty clever collapsible stairs arrangement that you can see in one picture. When you need to climb up a bunch of steps, it collapses to make the steps available. When you don't, it remains in place like a bridge. Neat! Most of the trains I rode were not full so I could see that the seats were clean. That's probably because eating and drinking is not allowed on board. In 2021, masks are required on all modes of public transportation. [Review 16393 overall - 198 in Germany - round number 1900 of 2021.] read more

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1 star, because 0 isn't an option. My wife and I visited Düsseldorf in early October 2026, during the Backstreet Boys concert week, when the city was full of foreign visitors. At 18:05 we bought a 24-hour ticket for two people (12.70 EUR) at a Rheinbahn machine at Düsseldorf Hbf. We switched the machine to English, followed every step, and paid. What nobody tells you in English: that ticket is not valid until you stamp it in a separate small machine. The only place this is mentioned is on the ticket itself, in German only: "nur gültig mit Entwerteraufdruck". We don't speak German. There was no staffed counter to ask. At 21:27 we were checked on the U76. We showed our paid ticket immediately. Result: two fines of 60 EUR each, 120 EUR for a ticket we had already paid 12.70 EUR for. The fine slips? Also German only. The inspector told us the fine would be waived. It wasn't. When we complained, Rheinbahn replied that tourists must inform themselves. We asked: where, exactly, in English? No answer. Here is what bothers me most. Rheinbahn clearly knows foreign visitors use its machines, because the sales process is offered in English. But the rules that decide whether you get fined are printed only in German, and so are the fines. Printing one extra line of English on a ticket costs nothing. In my opinion, selling in English while keeping the rules in German looks less like an oversight and more like a system that profits from tourists' mistakes. If it really is just an oversight, Rheinbahn should fix it instead of collecting fines from visitors who paid. We have taken the case to the Schlichtungsstelle Nahverkehr NRW (the public transport arbitration body). Advice for visitors: if you buy a paper ticket, find the small stamping machine before boarding. Or avoid Rheinbahn's paper tickets altogether. read more

Though I'm not sure the best place to rate the Rheinbahn app, I am sure that it was a very valuable addition to my summer 2023 travel plan. One year ago, we were amazed with the value provided by the 9-Euro Deutschland Ticket. This year, the price rose to 49 Euros, available by subscription only, and only purchasable via credit card from certain service providers, of which Rheinbahn was one. Easy to purchase, easy to unsubscribe, welcome everywhere we traveled in Deutschland. The only problem was the following month renewed on the 5th (rather than the 10th, as expected) so a second month was purchased before we could unsubscribe. Oh well, still a great value, considering the extent of our travels. read more