One of the most simple inquiries I deal with from foreign friends is on how to use the ticket machine. Most information about how to use the machine can be had on RMV’s website RMV Ticket Machines.

Two worthwhile points about buying tickets are not mentioned though:

* A few machines only take coins, such as ours at the station Oberursel Altstadt (formerly Portstrasse). So it’s best to always carry some spare change on you unless you have enough time to run back across the tracks to buy your ticket from the opposite machine.

* Coins sometimes fall through. That is when passengers need to rub the coin rim on the machine first, which then makes the coin acceptable.

Ticket machine with scratch marks

These three black-rimmed ovals are signs of coins scratched against its surface. As one of our out-of-country visitors noted, enough friction over the years make them look like burn marks indeed.