Bus transport in Berlin

Bus transport is the oldest public transport service in Berlin, the capital city of Germany, having been introduced in 1846. Since 1929, services have been operated by Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), although during the Cold War-era division of the city they operated in West Berlin only. BVG's fleet consists of 1,300 vehicles, which cover 300,000 kilometres per day.

Bus transport in Berlin
MAN Lion's City DD double decker bus
Overview
LocaleBerlin, Germany
Transit typePublic bus transport
Number of lines329 (+39 night lines)
Operation
Began operation1846
Operator(s)Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Number of vehiclesMAN Lion's City, MAN ND 202
Technical
System length1,662 km (1,033 mi)
The bus depot of Indira-Gandhi-Straße,
Alt-Hohenschönhausen
A bus in Berlin Tegel Airport
A double decker bus of line 100 nearby Alexanderplatz
Interior view of a modern bus
An articulated bus in Mitte
A vintage ABOAG bus used for touristic service

History

30 October 1846 saw the first bus services from the Concessionierte Berliner Omnibus-Compagnie. In 1868, a new company was created, the ABOAG (Allgemeinen Berliner Omnibus Actien Gesellschaft) which on 1 January 1929 merged with other Berlin public transport companies to create the BVG.

After the opening of Berlin Wall, the transport companies were no longer able to cope up with the traffic, and so once again, solo buses by other transport companies and 100 hired coaches were used. The 3-digit numbering system was unified and implemented on June 2, 1991, just before the reunification of BVG in 1 January 1992.

Routes

Normal buses

Normal bus routes ()[1] make up most of the network and consist of around 300 lines, numbered from 100 to 399. The most famous line is the 100, which serves the tourist route from Alexanderplatz to the Zoological Garden passing many of Berlin's sights. The suburban buses, operating outside Berlin and not managed by BVG, are included in the tariff area of Berlin public transport.

Each bus line has a 3-digit number. The second digit indicates the borough in which the line runs:

MetroBus

As for the MetroTram lines, there are 17 MetroBus ()[2] lines, each running every 10 minutes with a 24-hour service. Unlike the other bus lines, they are shown on many tramway maps and on some railway maps of the city.

The list of Metrobus routes are:

  • M11: Dahlem-Dorf - Schöneweide
  • M19: Grunewald - Mehringdamm
  • M21: Rosenthal - Jungfernheide
  • M27: Pankow - Jungfernheide
  • M29: Grunewald - Hermannplatz
  • M32: Rathaus Spandau - Dallgow-Döberitz, Havelpark
  • M37: Spandau - Staaken
  • M41: Sonnenallee - Hauptbahnhof
  • M44: Buckow - Hermannstraße
  • M45: Spandau - Zoologischer Garten
  • M46: Zoologischer Garten - Britz-Süd
  • M48: Zehlendorf - Alexanderplatz
  • M49: Heerstraße/Nennhauser Damm - Zoologischer Garten
  • M76: Walter-Schreiber-Platz - Lichtenrade
  • M77: Marienfelde, Waldsassener Straße - Alt-Mariendorf
  • M82: Marienfelde, Waldsassener Straße - Rathaus Steglitz
  • M85: Lichterfelde Süd - Hauptbahnhof

ExpressBus

The express buses ()[3] are 13 rapid lines, mainly used to reach the airports or linking the suburbs to the city centre, with far fewer stops. The most famous route is TXL (Tegel Airport - Alexanderplatz).

  • X7: Schönefeld - Rudow
  • X9: Zoologischer Garten - Tegel Airport
  • X10: Zoologischer Garten - Teltow, Rammrath-Brücke
  • X11: Krumme Lanke - Schöneweide
  • X21: Märkisches Viertel, Quickborner Straße - U Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
  • X33: Märkisches Viertel, Wilhelmsruher Damm - Rathaus Spandau
  • X34: Kladow - Zoologischer Garten
  • X36: Rathaus Spandau - Haselhorst
  • X49: Staaken - Messe Nord/ICC
  • X54: Pankow - Hellersdorf
  • X69: Marzahn - Köpenick, Müggelschlößchenweg
  • X76: Walter-Schreiber-Platz - Lichtenrade
  • X83: Königin-Luise-Straße/Clayallee - Lichtenrade

Night buses

The night buses (N),[4] consisting of 45 lines, substitute (from N1 to N9) the U-Bahn (except at weekends). The other lines serve suburban neighbourhoods not served by any public service running in daytime.

Other services

Apart from the service buses managed by BVG and other local companies, in the city there are hundreds of private tourist coaches. The main bus station of Berlin is the Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof Berlin ("Central Omnibus Station"), also known as ZOB.[5] It is located in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and linked to the stations of Kaiserdamm (U-Bahn) and Messe Nord/ICC[6] (S-Bahn).

On 18 February 2011 MR Software released "OMSI - The Bus Simulator" (also known as "OMSI - Der Omnibussimulator") for Windows. It is a bus simulator set in the late 1980s in West Berlin that features the MAN SD200 and MAN SD202 double-decker buses with a complex set of functions and made in various years. The player operates these buses along line 92 (now M37) that served the Staaken, Wilhelmstadt, Altstadt, and Falkenhagener Feld localities in the borough of Spandau. And on 11 December 2013. MR Software also released “OMSI 2 - The Bus Simulator” for Windows. It is the sequel to OMSI - The Bus Simulator. It features the MAN NL202 and the MAN NG272. The player can enjoy the bus lines 5 (now 130), 92 (now M37) and other add-ons which is community developed. It is sold on Aerosoft, Steam (service) and Halycon.

Fleet

BVG Bus Fleet

As of 2015, the BVG bus fleet consisted of 1300 buses.

Single Decker

QuantityManufacturerTypePassengersLengthFootnotesPhoto
77 Mercedes-Benz EN02 Citaro 60-70 12 m
9 MAN EN03 Lion's City A21 60-70 12 m * To be retired by 2017-2019.
30 Mercedes-Benz EN05 Citaro 60-70 12 m
80 Mercedes-Benz EN06 Citaro 60-70 12 m
150 Mercedes-Benz EN09 Citaro LE 60-70 12 m
2 VDL EN12 Citea LLE-120 60-70 12 m
40 VDL EN15 Citea LLE-120 70 12 m
4 Solaris EN15 Urbino 12 electric 60-70 12 m Electric Bus
406

Lengthened Bus

QuantityManufacturerTypePassengersLengthFootnotesPhoto
67 Mercedes-Benz LN02 Citaro L 15 m
67

Bendy Bus or Articulated Bus

QuantityManufacturerTypePassengersLengthFootnotesPhoto
32 MAN GN03 Lion´s City G A23 less than 99 18 m * To be retired by 2017-2019.
36 Mercedes-Benz GN03 Citaro G less than 99 18 m
130 Solaris GN05 Urbino 18 less than 99 18 m * 6 buses have been solded to Bratislava.
Solaris GN07 Urbino 18 less than 99 18 m
46 Solaris GN08 Urbino 18 99 18 m
40 Solaris GN09 Urbino 18 99 18 m
70[7] Scania GN14 Citywide LFA 99 18 m
Scania GN15 Citywide LFA 99 18 m
416

Double Decker

QuantityManufacturerTypePassengersLengthFootnotesPhoto
1 MAN DL04 Lion’s City DD 110 13,7 m
103 MAN DL05 Lion’s City DD 110 13,7 m
103 MAN DL07 Lion’s City DD 110 13,7 m
105 MAN DL08 Lion’s City DD 110 13,7 m
104 MAN DL09 Lion’s City DD 110 13,7 m
1[8] VDL DN15 Citea DLF 114 97 11,4 m Prototype
1[9] Scania DN15 Citywide LFDD 88 10,9 m Prototype
Alexander Dennis Enviro 500 MMC 12.9 m Prototype (demonstration only)
418[10]

Future Bus

QuantityManufacturerTypePassengersLengthFootnotesPhoto
200 Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC 80 Seated 13.8m Minimum 70[11] Option for 430[12]
200

References
  1. (in German) Bus (normal lines) page on BVG website
  2. (in German) MetroBus page on BVG website
  3. (in German) ExpressBus page on BVG website
  4. (in German) Night buses page on BVG website
  5. Berlin ZOB location on Google Maps
  6. Named Witzleben until 2002
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. http://www.bvg.de/de/Aktuell/Newsmeldung?newsid=880
  9. https://www.bvg.de/de/Aktuell/Newsmeldung?newsid=460
  10. http://unternehmen.bvg.de/de/Unternehmen/Profil/Bus/Fahrzeuge
  11. https://www.bvg.de/de/Aktuell/Newsmeldung?newsid=2854
  12. https://www.alexander-dennis.com/media/news/2018/october/alexander-dennis-wins-berlin-contract-for-new-double-decker-fleet/#:~:text=Leading%20British%20bus%20manufacturer%20Alexander,three%2Daxle%20double%20deck%20buses.&text=BVG%20operates%20around%201%2C500%20buses,alone%20transported%20441%20million%20passengers.

Literature
  • Dieter Gammrath, Hein Jung: "Berliner Omnibusse". Alba, Düsseldorf 1988, ISBN 3-87094-334-3
  • Gammrath, Jung, Schmiedeke: "Berliner Omnibusse". Alba, Düsseldorf 1999, ISBN 3-87094-359-9
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