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The VBB Telegram Bot helps you plan public transport journeys in the Berlin-Brandenburg area. Once you’ve configured your home and destination addresses, you can quickly get journey options with just a few taps.

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How journey planning works

The bot retrieves journey options from your configured home address to your destination address, taking into account your preferences like walking speed, maximum transfers, and preferred transport types.
1

Access journey planning

From the main menu, select the journey planning option. The bot will automatically use your saved home and default destination addresses.
2

View journey options

The bot displays multiple journey options in a paginated view. Each journey shows:
  • Departure and arrival times
  • Total journey duration
  • Number of transfers
  • Transport modes used
  • Walking distances
  • Platform information
3

Navigate between options

Use the Previous/Next buttons to browse through different journey options. The current page indicator shows which journey you’re viewing (e.g., “1 / 10”).

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Journey types

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Scheduled journeys (arrival time)

By default, the bot plans journeys to arrive at your destination by your configured arrival time. This is useful for regular commutes where you need to arrive at work by a specific time.
The bot calculates backwards from your desired arrival time to show you when you need to leave home.

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Immediate journeys (now)

You can also get journey options for leaving immediately. This shows departures starting from the current time, which is useful for spontaneous trips.

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Using geolocation for destinations

Instead of using your saved destination address, you can share your current location or any location to get journey options to that specific place.
1

Share location

Use Telegram’s location sharing feature to send a location to the bot.
2

Confirm location

The bot displays the resolved address and asks you to confirm the action.
3

Get journeys

Select “Get journeys to this location” to see your journey options to that destination.
Location-based journeys are temporary and don’t change your saved default destination address.

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Journey information details

Each journey option includes comprehensive information:
  • Departure time: When to leave from your home address
  • Arrival time: When you’ll arrive at your destination
  • Duration: Total journey time including transfers and walking
  • Transfers: Number of times you need to change vehicles
  • Legs: Individual segments of your journey showing:
    • Transport line (e.g., S7, U2, Bus 100)
    • Direction/destination of the line
    • Departure and arrival stops
    • Platform/track information
    • Duration of each leg
  • Walking segments: Distance and time for walking portions

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Journey preferences

Your journey results are influenced by several preferences you can configure:
  • Walking speed: Affects calculated walking times (slow/normal/fast)
  • Maximum transfers: Limits how many times you need to change vehicles
  • Maximum journeys: Controls how many journey options are shown
  • Minimum transfer time: Additional buffer time between connections
  • Transport types: Which modes of transport to include in results
See User preferences and Transport types to learn how to configure these settings.

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Refreshing journey data

Journey information is retrieved in real-time from the VBB transport API. If you need updated information (e.g., due to delays or schedule changes), simply request journeys again.
Journey data reflects the current schedule and may not account for real-time delays or disruptions. Always check platform displays at stations for the most current information.

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