Stockholm Public Transport: The Complete SL Guide

Stockholm’s transport is easy once you know three rules that cost visitors money: one card per person, never switch between card and phone mid-journey, and register before you expect a discount. Here is the whole system, checked against SL’s own rulebook.

When you need this

You have just landed at Arlanda, or you are standing at a metro gate with nothing but a bank card. Maybe you are working out whether a 72-hour ticket beats a week’s worth of taps. Or you are heading to Djurgården, the archipelago or Uppsala and want to know whether your ticket still works.

One system, one ticket, no zones

SL (Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, part of Region Stockholm) runs every kind of public transport in Stockholm county under one ticket system. Any SL ticket works on all of these:

There are no fare zones. A ticket costs the same for one stop or the far end of the county, and it also covers commuter trains to Bålsta and Gnesta just over the county line. Only trips into Uppsala county, beyond Arlanda, need an added ticket from UL, Uppsala’s operator.

If a guide tells you to buy an SL Access card and load travel funds onto it, it is out of date. That system shut down on 31 March 2023 and the old blue and black cards no longer work at all. Its replacement is the green SL-kort, a 20 kr reusable card you load with tickets.

Tapping your bank card

For most short stays the best ticket is none at all. Hold a contactless Visa, Mastercard or American Express card, or Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay or Fidesmo Pay, on a reader:

• at the gates to the metro, commuter trains and commuter boats
• on the bus
• on platform posts (SL-stolpar) where they exist
• with the conductor on trams

The light turns green and you have an adult single ticket valid for 75 minutes on everything SL runs, with as many changes as you like. The price is the same as in the SL app. SL collects the day’s taps together, at the earliest the next day; if your account cannot cover them, the card is blocked for new SL trips until you pay.

Three rules decide whether tapping works for you:

1. One card per person. A tapped ticket is personal — every traveler must travel on their own card. Tapping once for two people leaves the second one without a ticket.
2. Same card, whole journey. SL sees your plastic card and the same card in your phone wallet as two cards. Switch between them and you pay for two journeys.
3. Reduced fares need registration. Under-20s, people 65 and over, and students with a Swedish student ID carrying the SL logo pay the reduced fare. To get it by tapping, set up your card on sl.se no later than the day before; otherwise you pay the adult price.

Buying on a bus works only by tapping a card. An app ticket must be bought and activated before you board.

Which ticket to buy

The SL app sells singles and 24-hour, 72-hour, 7-day and 30-day tickets. You can keep them in the app or put them on an SL-kort, and staffed ticket booths (spärrkiosk) and agents such as Pressbyrån sell them too. The 24- and 72-hour tickets start on first use, so you can buy ahead and start them within 60 days.

Autumn 2026 changes the long-stay answer. A government-funded price cut halves the 30-day ticket to the end of 2026. It has to be bought and activated by 2 December, and at that price it costs only a little more than a 7-day ticket (both prices are in the table below). Staying five days or more before December? Buy the 30-day ticket.

A group ticket puts several travelers on one app ticket at the normal per-person price. At metro and commuter-train gates, the group goes through the staffed gate beside the ticket booth rather than the automatic barriers.

Children, strollers, pets and bikes

SL is generous to families. Children under 7 ride free with any paying traveler, in any number, every day. A paying adult can also take up to six children aged 7 to 11 free, every day, and the two rules combine. Young people under 20 pay the reduced fare.

On buses that have ticket readers only at the front doors, one adult with a child in a stroller rides free. Where there are readers at every door, or you pass through a gate line into a bus terminal, you need a ticket. On buses where the driver checks tickets, wheelchair and rollator users ride free.

Dogs and other small pets ride free, leashed or in a bag or cage, with at most two leashed animals per person. On the metro, use the middle section of the car; our guide to dogs on Swedish public transport covers the details. Full-size bikes are not allowed on buses, the metro, Spårväg City or Nockebybanan. Commuter trains, Tvärbanan, Lidingöbanan, Saltsjöbanan and Roslagsbanan’s new trains take them outside weekday rush hours, and commuter boats when there is room. E-bikes are banned on SL trains and trams; folding bikes under 120 cm are always fine — see bikes on trains.

Drinking alcohol stronger than 2.25% and smoking, including e-cigarettes, are not allowed anywhere in SL traffic.

Boats on an SL ticket

This is where visitors most often pay twice. Every SL ticket, including a tapped single, works on SL’s four boat lines. Line 82, the Djurgården ferry, runs from Slussen via Skeppsholmen to Djurgården; tap before you board. Line 80 runs from Nybroplan past Djurgården and Nacka to Ropsten, which makes it a cheap harbour trip on an ordinary ticket.

The archipelago boats of Waxholmsbolaget are partly covered. Any SL ticket is valid year-round between Strömkajen, Vaxholm and the 42 piers in between. Further out you need a Waxholmsbolaget ticket, which is also sold in the SL app. In the low season, SL tickets of 30 days or longer are valid on all Waxholmsbolaget boats. Our guide to Stockholm archipelago ferries goes further.

For Djurgården’s museums you can also take tram 7 from T-Centralen past Nordiska museet, Gröna Lund and Skansen. In July there is no conductor on board; staff at the bigger stops check tickets instead.

Late nights and Arlanda

The metro runs all night on weekends. On other nights it stops for a few hours and night buses take over. Since August 2026, a pilot planned to run until December 2027 keeps commuter trains between Uppsala, Arlanda, Stockholm and Södertälje running on weekend nights. The last trains leave the end stations at about 02:00 and service restarts at about 04:00.

At Arlanda, SL’s commuter train is on the same ticket as the rest of the city, but getting on or off at Arlanda C costs an extra station passage fee for adults. Under-18s go through free. An ordinary SL ticket or travelcard does not open those gates, so buy the Arlanda supplement or SL’s combined Arlanda ticket in the app first. SL buses to the terminals charge no fee, and SL tickets are not valid on Arlanda Express. Our guide to getting from Arlanda to the city compares every option.

Ticket inspections and the surcharge

Inspectors check at gates and on board, sometimes in plain clothes with special ID. Travel without a valid ticket and SL charges a tilläggsavgift (surcharge) of 1,850 kr plus the price of a single ticket; the surcharge slip itself counts as a 75-minute ticket. The legal basis is Lag (1977:67). The same law forbids the surcharge when the missing ticket is excusable, and it names unfamiliarity with local conditions as one ground. If that fits your case, dispute it in writing; our guide to the surcharge explains how.

Keep the card or phone you paid with until you leave the system. An inspector checks a tapped card with a handheld reader, so the card you show has to be the card you tapped.

Mistakes to avoid

• Paying twice for a boat trip. The Djurgården ferry and the Vaxholm boats take any SL ticket.
• Buying singles for a whole week. From five days, check the period tickets — especially before 2 December 2026.
• Looking for zones. There are none.
• Paying for small children. Under-7s ride free, and an adult takes six 7–11-year-olds free.
• Showing a foreign student card. Only Swedish student IDs with the SL logo count.
• Tapping your SL ticket at Arlanda C and expecting the gate to open. Buy the passage supplement first.

Practical information

FAQ

Can I pay for the Stockholm metro with my credit card?

Yes. Tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard or American Express card, or a phone wallet such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, on the reader at the metro gate. That buys an adult single ticket valid for 75 minutes across all SL transport, at the app price. Each traveler needs their own card, and you should use the same card or phone for the whole journey.

Does Stockholm public transport have zones?

No. SL has one fare for the whole of Stockholm county, so a ticket costs the same whether you ride one stop or to the far end of the network. It is also valid on commuter trains to Bålsta and Gnesta. Only trips into Uppsala county, beyond Arlanda, need an added UL ticket. Older guides describing zones are out of date.

How long is an SL single ticket valid?

Seventy-five minutes from purchase or first tap, and you can change between metro, bus, tram, commuter train and boat as often as you like within that time. Singles that include the Arlanda station passage are valid for 120 minutes. The tilläggsavgift you pay if caught without a ticket also counts as a 75-minute ticket.

Which SL ticket is best for tourists?

It depends on how many days you ride. For one or two days with a few trips, just tap your card. For a long weekend, a 72-hour ticket starts on first use. For five days or more, compare the 7-day ticket with the 30-day ticket, which costs 530 kr until 2 December 2026, only slightly more.

Do children travel free on SL?

Children under 7 travel free with any paying traveler, in any number and on any day. A paying adult can also take up to six children aged 7 to 11 free every day. Young people under 20 pay the reduced fare. If you tap a card, register it on sl.se the day before to get reduced prices.

What is the fine for no ticket on SL?

SL charges a surcharge, the tilläggsavgift, of 1,850 kronor plus the price of a single ticket, checked September 2026. The surcharge counts as a 75-minute ticket. Swedish law forbids it when the missing ticket is excusable, including unfamiliarity with local conditions, so dispute it in writing if that applies to you.

Does the Stockholm metro run all night?

Only on weekends. SL’s metro runs around the clock on weekend nights and closes for a few hours on other nights, when night buses — line numbers ending in 90 — take over. Since August 2026 commuter trains between Uppsala, Arlanda and Södertälje also run until about 02:00 and restart at about 04:00 on weekend nights.

Can I use my SL ticket on boats in Stockholm?

Yes, on more boats than most visitors realize. All SL tickets are valid on SL’s four commuter-boat lines, including the Djurgården ferry (line 82). They are also valid year-round on Waxholmsbolaget boats between Strömkajen and Vaxholm. For the rest of the archipelago you need a Waxholmsbolaget ticket, except in low season with a 30-day SL ticket.

Related guides

• Arlanda to Stockholm city — the passage fee and every transfer option compared
• Stockholm archipelago ferries — where the SL ticket stops and Waxholmsbolaget starts
• How to pay for buses in Sweden — what changes once you leave Stockholm
• Using cards in Sweden — the card that makes tapping work
• Dogs on Swedish public transport — where your dog rides on SL

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Facts verified 2026-09-24. Sources: SL (Region Stockholm) — its 2026 ticket rulebook and sl.se — and Sveriges riksdag for Lag (1977:67) — full register in this topic’s source file. The half-price 30-day ticket ends in December 2026, and SL’s prices change each January. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.