LIEmobil, Liechtenstein's bus network explained for visitors

LIEmobil’s lime-green buses are Liechtenstein’s public transport, and there’s nothing else. No metro, no trams, and the railway barely matters to a visitor. The upside is a network designed so nobody needs a car, and once you’ve grasped three things, how to pay, how the zones work and which route goes where, you’ll get around without checking your phone twice. How the bus compares with a car, a bike or your own feet is in getting around Liechtenstein.

The routes you’ll really use

LIEmobil runs a dense network, but visitors only need a handful of routes. Route 11 is the spine, from Sargans to Feldkirch through Balzers, Triesen, Vaduz, Schaan and the Unterland. The 12E is its weekday express between Sargans and Vaduz, which I cover stop by stop in Sargans to Vaduz. Route 12 runs from Vaduz to Buchs via Schaan, the 14 from Vaduz to Feldkirch via Nendeln, and the 24 crosses to Buchs by way of Sevelen.

Two routes serve the mountains. The 21 climbs from Vaduz to Triesenberg and Malbun all year, in 30 minutes and hourly through mid-morning, while the 22 connects Triesenberg with Gaflei, the starting point of the Fürstensteig. What to do once you’re up there is in Malbun. For Planken, the smallest village, there’s the 26 from Schaan.

Paying, without cash

This is where people get stuck at the bus door holding a ten-franc note. LIEmobil doesn’t take cash on board. You pay the driver with any contactless debit or credit card, or buy in advance through the SBB Mobile and Fairtiq apps. The first sells journeys within, to and from Liechtenstein, and the second is a check-in app, where you swipe in on boarding and out when you leave, working across Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Vorarlberg, border crossings included.

If you’d rather talk to someone, LIEmobil’s customer centre is at Postplatz 5 in Schaan, open Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00. Tickets can also be bought from drivers on Vmobil buses, the Austrian operator in Vorarlberg. For wheelchair users, the buses carry ramps, which I cover in Liechtenstein accessibility.

Zones, fares and how long a ticket lasts

Fares are zone-based. A short hop of up to five stops and ten minutes costs CHF 2. A single for one zone is CHF 3, two zones CHF 4 and three or more CHF 5. Here’s the detail I like best. A single isn’t one ride but a time window, half an hour for one zone, an hour for two and two hours from three upwards, so within that window you can change routes without paying again.

Day passes cost CHF 5, CHF 7 or CHF 9 depending on zones, and the three-plus version covers the whole country. For a day that includes Malbun and a return along the valley, that’s the one I’d buy. LIEmobil’s fares also stretch across the border to Sargans and Buchs stations and into central Feldkirch.

Discounts, passes and cards

The reduced fare covers children up to the day before their 16th birthday, Swiss Half Fare Card holders, dogs, bikes and groups of ten. It brings singles down to CHF 2.50, CHF 3 or CHF 3.50 and day passes to CHF 4, CHF 5 or CHF 6. The Swiss GA travelcard is valid across the network at no extra cost. Dogs also travel on a lead, and the other rules for them are in Liechtenstein with a dog.

For longer stays, a monthly pass costs CHF 25 to CHF 45 and an annual one from CHF 280. For a tourist, though, the best pass is usually a different one, the Erlebnispass, which rolls buses into the price along with museums and the Sareis chairlift. I compare the options in Liechtenstein’s adventure pass.

Winter, night buses and bikes

In winter the network grows towards the mountains with two ski buses, the B from Schaanwald and the C from Balzers, both to Malbun. With a Bergbahnen Malbun season or annual ski pass, route 21 and the ski buses are free during the 2026-27 season, which runs from 19 December to 4 April. Prices are in skiing in Malbun.

On weekend nights two night buses run, the N1 between Feldkirch, Bendern, Schaan, Vaduz and Balzers, and the N2 covering the long haul from Sargans to Feldkirch. In summer, routes 21 and 22 carry bike racks and bikes pay the reduced fare. For me nothing beats it for mixing bus and bike in the hills, ride up by bus and freewheel down.