Not sure if I should carry coins for public transport in Austria or if card payments are common. Advice?
I hopped between Salzburg and the countryside using cash-based tickets from machines (€2.30/ride). In Vienna, however, I used my Mastercard through the WienMobil app to validate tickets digitally. Public transport in Austria is transitioning to digital, but cash is still necessary. I load €30 on transport apps and also carry cash for rural buses where card readers aren’t yet installed.
Viennese metro (U-Bahn) does not allow tap-in - tickets still need to be bought at machine or kiosk. However, you can buy 24-hr digital tickets via the mobile app and pay by card. In smaller towns, bus conductors expect exact cash. Card payments are available for transport, but infrastructure varies by city. Best carry some small notes for occasional spits in the system.
In Graz, buses accept both paper tickets (from kiosks) and Maestro/Visa tap payments onboard. In Salzburg and Innsbruck, drivers sometimes only expect cash unless you buy through an app like WienMobil. Card-friendly public transport is available in major Austrian cities. I carried around €20 just in case for edge cases, but tapped for most rides in Vienna and Graz.
In Vienna, you can use contactless Visa/Mastercard on trams and buses via Tap-Funktion. A single ticket (about €2.40) can be tapped at the validator - no need for paper tickets. In smaller cities like Linz, they still need paper tickets purchased from machines or kiosks. Public transport in Austria is partly card-friendly, but best to carry a few euros for non-contact zones.