If you do not live in the vicinity of the place you work or study, you will probably use public transport. There are people who use bicycle, but it is not so common and you'd better wear safty-vest and helmet.
Bus
There are many bus companies in Birmingham, but by far the largest is Travel West Midlands, so I write about this company.
One way ticket costs £1.40, but for a very short distance it is £1. If you don't know how far is your destination, ask the driver and pay the exact charge. All the buses are one-manned, and they cannot give you the rest. One-day ticket costs £3, but if you buy it after 6 o'clock, it is £1.80.
If you commute by bus, you probably want to buy Travel Cards. If you travel only in Birmingham area, Birmingham and Black Country Faresaver costs £ 12.50 for a week and £42.25 for four weeks. There are other options to pay for 52 weeks, or to pay with direct debit (there is discount), if you are interested, check the website above. If you don't use the bus during the peak hours, Off-Peak ticket is the best option: during the weekdays, you can use it between 9:30ˆÈ and 3:30, and again after18:00, and all day Saturday and Sunday. This ticket costs £6.80 for a week and £:30 for two weeks. The information is correct in 2007, so if you are reading this after 2007, please check the website Travel West Midlandss.
Buses are relatively punctual and very frequent along the major roads. During the night, there are also night buses (more expensive than normal ones, but cheaper than taxi if you travel alone or in 2).
Train
Trains are fast and comfortable, but they are rather unreliable and stop for minimum troubles (like "too many follen leaves on the track"). The commuting trains are frequent during weekdays, but during weekends infrequent and start rather late in the morning. For information, you can check the web site of Centro, which is the organisation that unites all the buses, trains and metro. If you need to commute combining bus, trains and/or metro, you can buy travel card from the Centro.
Bicycle
If you want to use bicycle, there are some things you need to know. In Birmingham, you need to run the car lane (not the pedestrian walk). It is very dengerous if you do this without safety vest and helmet.
Another thing you should bear in mind is the theft of bicycle is very VERY common, even inside the university campus.
If you want to buy cheap bicycle, you can find in the catalogue shop Argos or Halfords (car parts shop: there is one in the Selly Oak retail park, near Saintsbury's.
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