More and more people in Upper Austria are using public transport for excursions, day trips and leisure activities. This trend is particularly evident in the Upper Austrian leisure ticket: a total of 57,040 Upper Austrian leisure tickets were sold in 2025. This corresponds to an increase of 14,027 tickets or 33 per cent compared to 2024. In certain months, the sales figures for the Freizeit-Ticket OÖ have almost doubled compared to the previous year. Preliminary sales figures for the current year confirm this positive trend. The Freizeit-Ticket OÖ was introduced in 2020 specifically for public leisure transport and is in particularly high demand at weekends.
Leisure mobility on public transport continues to pick up speed in Upper Austria. This development is being driven by several factors. In addition to the high level of reliability and the wide range of public transport services, simple distribution channels and attractive fare models play a key role. Numerous leisure destinations in Upper Austria are easily accessible by bus and train - from cultural and city trips to swimming lakes in summer and winter sports destinations in the Alps. Especially at weekends and on public holidays, i.e. during people's leisure time, an increase in passenger numbers has been noticeable and measurable in recent years. More and more people are taking advantage of the opportunity to reach their leisure destinations by public transport and are travelling comfortably to their excursion destinations throughout Upper Austria without stress and traffic jams. In regional bus services alone, passenger numbers on weekends and public holidays rose by almost 57 per cent between 2019 and 2025.
More leisure mobility on public transport through expansion of services and attractive fares
This development is favoured on the one hand by attractive fare offers such as the KlimaTicket OÖ and the Freizeit-Ticket OÖ, and on the other hand by the continuous expansion of public transport in recent years: The existing regional timetable services in Upper Austria have been expanded by around 15.8 percent since 2019, which corresponds to an increase of around seven million additional timetable kilometres/year. In addition, partnerships with municipalities, tourism and event organisers provide targeted incentives to travel by public transport and benefit from it - for example through special transport services, campaign weeks or voucher promotions. True to the motto: travelling by public transport is not only easy on your nerves and the environment, but also on your wallet. Many event organisers have now also recognised this need for sustainable and climate-friendly mobility solutions and are increasingly investing in the provision of event and special transport (around 60 event cooperations per year). This creates targeted incentives for travelling by bus and train. Especially in tourist regions such as the Salzkammergut, public transport is becoming increasingly important in order to optimise the flow of visitors. This is why the Upper Austrian Transport Association, in close cooperation with Upper Austrian Tourism and the tourism associations, is actively promoting sustainable mobility offers in leisure mobility in order to convince even more people of the benefits of climate-friendly mobility in their leisure time in the future.
"Passenger growth in leisure transport is the best proof that we are heading in the right direction. The continuous expansion of public transport and simple, affordable fare models and sales channels are having an impact: more and more people are also using buses and trains in their leisure time. Public transport is thus making an important contribution to climate-friendly mobility and at the same time providing urgently needed traffic relief on Upper Austria's roads, especially in heavily frequented tourist regions," says Günther Steinkellner, Provincial Councillor for Mobility and Infrastructure.
"The Upper Austrian leisure ticket is a milestone on the way to the goal of sustainable leisure mobility using public transport in Upper Austria. In order to promote this and other forward-looking mobility solutions for locals and guests, a platform has been created with the 'ARGE Tourismus Mobilität OÖ', in which the state of Upper Austria, Upper Austria Tourism and the tourism associations work closely together with partners such as the Upper Austrian Transport Association, the ÖAMTC or the Regional Management Upper Austria", emphasises Markus Achleitner, Upper Austrian State Councillor for Economic Affairs and Tourism.
In addition to the Freizeit-Ticket OÖ, the KlimaTicket OÖ, which currently has over 40,000 active tickets in Upper Austria, also makes a significant contribution. A study commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI) in January 2026 shows that 43 per cent of KlimaTicket OÖ users surveyed also use the ticket for leisure trips. The KlimaTicket OÖ enables year-round mobility throughout the province and offers unlimited access to public transport in Upper Austria - with or without the inclusion of the core zones in Linz, Wels and Steyr, depending on requirements.
"More and more people are leaving their cars behind in their free time and consciously opting for buses and trains - whether for short holidays, excursions or spontaneous weekend trips. This development is no coincidence, but the result of a continuous improvement in public transport services. Attractive fare offers such as the KlimaTicket OÖ and the Freizeit-Ticket OÖ lower the barriers to entry, while at the same time targeted cooperation between the Upper Austrian Transport Association and strong partners creates additional incentives for leisure mobility," adds Klaus Wimmer, Managing Director of the Upper Austrian Transport Association.
Hiking in spring: public transport opens up new possibilities
With the arrival of spring, hiking is becoming increasingly important again, and public transport opens up new opportunities for leisure activities. Those travelling by bus and train are no longer reliant on traditional circular routes: Long-distance hikes and individual stages on long-distance hiking trails are made attractive by good public transport connections, as the starting and finishing points can be chosen flexibly and the return or onward journey can be made conveniently by public transport.
At the end of the tour, there is a relaxed return journey by bus or train - directly from the destination to home or back to the starting point. This not only makes hiking more flexible, but also noticeably slower. At the same time, public transport users make an important contribution to relieving congestion at busy excursion destinations by reducing traffic jams, parking space bottlenecks and CO₂ emissions. Public transport thus ideally combines the experience of nature, comfort and sustainable leisure mobility.
Public transport hiking tips in the hiking paradise of Upper Austria
Together with Upper Austria Tourism, selected sections along particularly attractive long-distance and long-distance hiking trails in Upper Austria have been put together for the following tours. They combine nature experiences, culture and impressive landscapes. Thanks to good public transport connections to the start and end points of the stages as well as bus stops and railway stations in the immediate vicinity of the hiking trails, they are ideal for flexible day trips.
- The Johannesweg in the Mühlviertel region runs for around 84 kilometres through rolling hills, forests and wide panoramas. Spiritual places such as chapels and pilgrimage churches characterise the trail as much as nature itself. The stages between Schönau im Mühlkreis (bus stop Schönau im Mühlkreis bypass) and St. Leonhard bei Freistadt (bus stop Sankt Leonhard bei Freistadt town centre) or between Weitersfelden (bus stop Weitersfelden town centre) and Kaltenberg (bus stop Kaltenberg im Mühlkreis town centre) are particularly suitable for flexible day hikes with public transport arrival and departure.
- The Innviertel pleasure pilgrimage along the European pilgrimage route Via Nova is a completely different experience. Nature, culture and culinary delights take centre stage here. The stage from Aspach (Aspach im Innkreis commuter car park stop) to Maria Schmolln (Maria Schmolln town centre stop) combines tranquil landscapes with regional gastronomy and an impressive panoramic view of the destination.
- The Sebaldusweg trail in the Traunviertel region leads through a varied cultural landscape with churches, chapels and sections of water and forest. Stages around Großraming (Großraming railway station or Großraming schools stop), Maria Neustift (Maria Neustift town centre stop) and Gaflenz (Gaflenz railway station or Gaflenz primary school stop) are particularly easy to reach, combining impressive nature experiences with sweeping views.
- Along the Danube, the Donausteig impressively shows the diversity of the river landscape. In the Hausruckviertel region between Engelhartszell (Engelhartszell Nibelungenstraße/ferry stop) and Schlögen (Schlögen Donauschlinge stop) as well as in the section between Aschach (Aschach an der Donau Kirchenplatz stop) and Eferding (Eferding bus terminal, schools), panoramas, nature and historical sites alternate.
- The BergeSeen Trail in the Salzkammergut region combines lakes, peaks and villages to create an overall alpine experience. Particularly attractive stages lead from Hallstatt (Hallstatt Lahn, bus terminal) via Obertraun to Bad Aussee (Bad Aussee train station) or from St. Gilgen am Wolfgangsee (Sankt Gilgen Hollweger bus stop) towards Mondsee (Mondsee bus terminal, Franz-Kreutzberger-Straße), including cross-border variants into Salzburger Land to Fuschl am See (Fuschl town centre bus stop). As part of the Salzkammergut region, hikers can also travel comfortably and inexpensively here by bus, train and the Upper Austrian leisure ticket.
More information on the hiking tours and other public transport excursion tips can be found at: ooevv.at/ausflugstipps.
The Freizeit-Ticket OÖ
The Freizeit-Ticket OÖ is the perfect choice for excursions in Upper Austria. For just €26.50, up to two adults and four children under the age of 15 can travel for a whole day by bus and train throughout the entire Upper Austrian region (valid on all city transport services, regional buses, Stern & Hafferl local trains and all ÖBB local and regional trains), including the Salzkammergut in the province of Salzburg. It is valid Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. and all day on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays until 3 a.m. the following day. Families, couples and groups can enjoy their hiking trip in a relaxed and cost-effective way.