Berlin has developed a highly complex transportation infrastructure providing very diverse modes of urban mobility. 979 bridges cross 197 kilometers of innercity waterways, of roads run through Berlin, of which are motorways. Long-distance rail lines connect Berlin with all of the major cities of Germany and with many cities in neighboring European countries. Regional rail lines provide access to the surrounding regions of Brandenburg and to the Baltic Sea.

Road transport In 2013, 1.344 million motor vehicles were registered in the city. With 377 cars per 1000 residents in 2013 (570/1000 in Germany), Berlin as a Western world city has one of the lowest numbers of cars per capita. Congestion pricing has been proposed.

Autobahn Berlin is linked to the rest of Germany and neighbouring countries by the country's autobahn network, including the: A2 to Hannover and the Ruhr area, with links to Frankfurt am Main and western Germany A9 to Leipzig, Nuremberg and Munich, with links to Frankfurt am Main and southern Germany A11 to Szczecin, with links to north-east Germany and Poland A12 to Frankfurt (Oder), with links to Poland A13 to Dresden, with links to Poland and the Czech Republic A24 to Hamburg, with links to Rostock and north-west Germany

All of these autobahn terminate at the A10 Berliner Ring, a autobahn that encircles the city at some distance from the centre, and largely in the surrounding state of Brandenburg. Central Berlin is connected to the A10 by several shorter autobahns: A111 to the northwest (towards the A24 and Tegel Airport) A113 to the southeast (towards the A12, A13 and Schönefeld Airport) A114 to the north (towards the A11) A115 to the southwest (towards the A2 and A9)

The A111, A113 and A115 connect with the A100 Berliner Stadtring, an autobahn that forms a half circle to the west of the inner city, and is one of the busiest motorways in Germany. There are plans to extend this motorway to form a full circle around the inner city.

Bus The Central Bus Station Berlin (Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof Berlin, or ZOB) is located in Berlin's western district Charlottenburg, close to the Messe Berlin exhibition grounds under the Funkturm. The bus station served as an alternative to the rail transit corridors during German partition. From ZOB intercity buses run to destinations throughout Germany and Europe. Some intercity buses also stop at various other points in Berlin, including the airports and major railway stations.

Taxicabs

In Berlin and Germany, taxicabs are mostly light yellow/beige ivory-coloured. The RAL number is 1015. Since 2005 the colour has not been compulsory anymore. Taxis have a small illuminated cylinder-like "TAXI" sign on the roof of the car (on when available, off otherwise).

Typically the taxicabs are Mercedes-Benz E-Class and S-Class along with other, mainly German, brands. Taxicabs are either sedans, station wagons, or MPVs. Common station wagon taxicabs include Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Among the MPVs, Mercedes-Benz B-Class, and Mercedes-Benz Vianos are common. Most taxicabs are automatic transmission, and some have navigation systems on board. Rates are usually near to other western European countries.Taxis fares comparison (2014)

In Berlin taxis have a special low fare (€4) called "Kurzstrecke" for distances less than 2 kilometers. "Street Hail" is a common practice in Berlin because cabs circle the cities when vacant. Other hailing methods such as telephone based calls or taxi apps are common as well.

Cycling

Berlin is known for its highly developed bike lane system. Among cities with more than one million inhabitants Berlin is a metropolis with one of the highest rates of bicycle commuting in the world. Around 1,500,000 daily rides account for 13% of total traffic in 2010. The Senate of Berlin aims to increase the number to 18% of city traffic by the year 2025.

Riders have access to of bike paths including some of mandatory bicycle paths, of off-road bicycle routes, of bike lanes on the roads, of shared bus lanes which are also open to bicyclists, of combined pedestrian/bike paths and of marked bike lanes on sidewalks.

The Berlin-Copenhagen Cycle Route (Radfernweg Berlin-Kopenhagen) is a long-distance cycling route that connects the German and Danish capital cities. The German portion of the route, between Berlin and Rostock, is approximately ; the Danish portion, between Gedser and Copenhagen, is approximately . From Rostock to Gedser, cyclists must take a ferry. Modal share The modal share of trips made by Berlin residents was as follows: Mode of transport2008201320182023Walking32%31%30%34%Motorised individual transport33%30%26%22%Public transport24%27%27%26%Cycling11%13%18%18%

Water transport

Berlin is linked to the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the River Rhine by an extensive network of rivers, lakes and canals. An equally extensive network of waterways exists within the city boundaries, providing local access and various short-cuts. The waterways accommodate a mixture of commercial traffic, sightseeing tour boats, ferries and a large fleet of private leisure boats.

Waterways

Berlin city centre is located on the River Spree, which runs roughly east to west across the city. The River Dahme joins the Spree at Köpenick, in the city's eastern suburbs. At Spandau the Spree joins the River Havel, which flows roughly north to south along the city's western boundary. To both east and west of the centre of Berlin, all three of these rivers flow through substantial chains of lakes. These include the Tegeler See and Großer Wannsee to the west, and the Müggelsee, Langer See, Seddinsee and Zeuthener See to the east.

The Elbe–Havel Canal links the River Havel downstream of Spandau with both the River Elbe, which flows into the North Sea at Hamburg, and with the Mittelland Canal, which stretches across Germany to a network of canals that provide a link to the River Rhine. Both the Oder–Havel and Oder–Spree canals provide routes from the Berlin area to the River Oder, which flows into the Baltic Sea near Szczecin and provides links to Poland. The Oder-Havel Canal links with the River Havel north of Spandau, whilst the Oder-Spree Canal links with the River Dahme east of Köpenick.

The most important canals within Berlin run roughly east to west between the rivers Spree and Havel. The canal system to the north of the Spree begins with the Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal, which runs from the Spree near the Hauptbahnhof to the River Havel above Spandau. The Westhafen Canal and the Charlottenburg Canal, both near Charlottenburg, provide further connections between the Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal and the River Spree.

The main canal to the south of the Spree is the Teltow Canal, which runs from the Dahme south of Köpenick through the southern part of Berlin to an arm of the Havel just east of Potsdam. A shorter canal, the Landwehr Canal, parallels the Spree through the centre of Berlin. It begins at the Spree between Treptow and Kreuzberg and rejoins the Spree in Charlottenburg. The Neukölln Ship Canal connects the Landwehr Canal with the Teltow Canal; while the Britz Canal connects the Teltow Canal with the Spree at Baumschulenweg.

Whilst not within Berlin, the existence of the city and its partition led to the construction of the Havel Canal in 1951–2. This canal provides an alternative route between Hennigsdorf and Paretz, both then in East Germany, and avoids the stretch of the River Havel that was under the political control of West Berlin.

Ports

Berlin's largest port is the Westhafen ("west port"), in Moabit (Mitte), with an area of . It lies at the intersection of the Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal and the Westhafen Canal. It handles the shipping of grain and pieced and heavy goods. The Südhafen ("south port"), which actually lies along the Havel in Spandau, in far western Berlin, covers an area of about and also handles the shipping of pieced and heavy goods. The Osthafen ("east port"), with an area of , lies along the Spree in Friedrichshain. The Hafen Neukölln, at only , is located along the Neuköllner Ship Canal in Neukölln. It handles the shipping of building materials.

Sightseeing boats operate on the central section of the River Spree and its adjoining waterways on a frequent basis. Common tours operated include short tours on the River Spree in the city centre, and a three-hour circuit of the city centre via the River Spree and the Landwehr Canal. Other sightseeing boats operate on the various lakes to the east and west of Berlin.

Several ferry services operate on and across Berlin's waterways (see ferries below).

Railways Long-distance rail lines connect Berlin with all of the major cities of Germany and with many cities in neighboring European countries. Regional rail lines of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg provide access to the surrounding regions of Brandenburg and to the Baltic Sea. The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is the largest grade-separated railway station in Europe.

Deutsche Bahn runs high speed ICE trains to domestic destinations like Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart, Frankfurt am Main and others. It also runs a BER airport express rail service, as well as trains to several international destinations (some of them in cooperation with railroads in other countries) like Vienna, Prague, Zürich, Warsaw, Budapest and Amsterdam.

Regional trains

Berlin is the centre of a system of regional trains operated by Deutsche Bahn, which operate to destinations within the Berlin-Brandenburg suburban area beyond the range of the S-Bahn. There are two kinds of regional trains, the frequently stopping Regionalbahn (RB), and the faster Regional-Express (RE).

Unlike the S-Bahn, the network of regional trains does not have its own segregated tracks, but rather shares tracks with longer distance passenger and freight services. Within Berlin, regional services stop less frequently than S-Bahn services, especially where they run parallel to U-Bahn or S-Bahn lines.

Regional trains often continue outside the Berlin-Brandenburg suburban area, but within that suburban area they use the common public transport tariff managed by the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB). This covers the city of Berlin and approximately beyond the city boundaries. These tickets are not valid on DB InterCity trains, Intercity-Express trains and international trains, even within Berlin.

Public transport

Berlin's local public transport network is under the regional transit authority named Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB), a common undertaking of the two federal states (Bundesland) Berlin and Brandenburg, plus the counties (Landkreis) and cities of the Land of Brandenburg. The VBB is the planning authority for regional transport, awards service contracts to private and public companies, and sets the tariffs. For transport lines and networks which do not pass a county's borders, the locality is responsible. This also means that the city-state of Berlin is the sole authority to award service contracts for networks and lines which do not pass beyond the city limits, but has to come to an agreement with the surrounding Land Brandenburg for regional rail and bus transport, i.e. the S-Bahn and regional trains.

The city's transit networks consists of several separate networks, with heavy and light rail transport with five different and incompatible electrification systems. These include the U-Bahn and S-Bahn urban rail systems, regional railway services, a tramway system, a bus network and a number of ferry services. There are a large number of common interchange stations between the different modes.