Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr

Ridership since 1996.

In 2004, roughly 1 billion trips were made by way of the VRR network.

Map of the complete Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn system network.

With the introduction of the VRR in 1980 a new line numbering systems for all bus, tram and Stadtbahn lines in the VRR area was introduced. The VRR was divided into ten sections getting a key number (e.g. 4 for Dortmund), the first number in the three-digit line numbers represents these key numbers. The last two numbers are the actual identifying numbers. These are the key numbers:

• 1: Essen, Mülheim
• 2: Kreis Recklinghausen, Bottrop
• 3: Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Witten
• 4: Dortmund
• 5: Hagen, Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis
• 6: Wuppertal, Solingen, Remscheid
• 7: Düsseldorf right of the Rhine
• 8: Düsseldorf east of the Rhine and surrounding areas
• 9: Duisburg, Oberhausen
• 0: Mönchengladbach, Krefeld
• no key number: Kleve (district), Wesel (district)

Stadtbahn lines are identified with the prefix "U" followed by the key number and a one-digit identifying. The key numbers 2, 5, 8, 9 and 0 are not used for Stadtbahn lines, but the Düsseldorf Stadtbahn is planning is approaching 10 lines in 2016, all new lines afterwards will get the 8 key number. The Wuppertal Schwebebahn is officially called line 60, but because it does not run underground, the U prefix is not used.

After the integration of the Niederrhein area north of Duisburg, a new section for key numbers was introduced; the buses have a one- or two-digit number with no key number for identification.

There are several exceptions of that system, also, there some extra line numbers e.g. for express buses:

• Express buses are called Schnellbus and have the prefix SB followed by a two-digit-number. None of these numbers is a key number.
• Semi-fast buses are called City-Express and have the prefix CE followed by a two-digit-number. As with the Schnellbusse none of these numbers is a key number.
• Taxi buses are AST – AnrufSammelTaxi or ALT – AnrufLinienTaxi or Taxibus
• In some cities the local buses have an own numbering system, e.g. the buses in Velbert are called Ortsbus, their line number consists of an OV followed by a one- or two-digit number.
• In some cities the night buses are called NachtExpress – NE

As of 2012, the VRR network consists of 978 lines,[1] of which there are:

• in regional rail transit
  • 11 S-Bahn lines[1] (see: Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn)
  • 15 RegionalExpress lines[1] (see: List of regional railway lines in North Rhine-Westphalia)
  • 24 RegionalBahn lines[1] (see: List of regional railway lines in North Rhine-Westphalia)
• in local rail transit
  • 19 Stadtbahn light rail lines[1] (see: Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn)
  • 45 streetcar (Straßenbahn) lines[1]
  • 1 Schwebebahn line[1] (in Wuppertal)
  • 2 H-Bahn peoplemover systems[1] made up of three lines (two H-Bahn lines in Dortmund, and the Düsseldorf SkyTrain at Düsseldorf airport)
• in bus transit
  • 906 bus lines,[1] including
    • 33 express bus lines (Schnellbus, SB)
    • 18 semi-fast bus lines (CityExpress, CE)
  • 6 trolleybus lines[1] (in Solingen)
• 15,300 km of route network[2] (bus, light rail, and train)
• 11,500 transit stops

Additionally, the VRR tariff is recognized on the following lines outside the VRR area:

• Aachener Verkehrsverbund
  • Heinsberg (district)
    • Wegberg (only bus line 017 from Mönchengladbach)
• Verkehrsgemeinschaft Münsterland (all lines, but only while traveling from/to the VRR area)
  • Borken (district)
    • Bocholt
    • Isselburg
    • Raesfeld
• Verkehrsgemeinschaft Ruhr-Lippe
  • Unna (district) (all lines, but only if VRL tariff is not possible)
    • Bergkamen
    • Holzwickede
    • Kamen
    • Lünen
    • Schwerte
    • Unna
  • Märkischer Kreis
    • Nachrodt-Wiblingwerde (only bus line 539)
• the Netherlands
  • Province Gelderland
    • Arnhem (only RE 19)
    • Millingen aan de Rijn (only bus line 60)
    • Nijmegen (only bus line SB 58)
    • 's-Heerenberg (only bus line 91)
    • Zevenaar (only RE 19)
  • Province Limburg
    • Venlo (only RE 13 and bus line 929)

• Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn
• Bochum Stadtbahn (BOGESTRA)
• Dortmund Stadtbahn
• Düsseldorf Stadtbahn (see also: Rheinbahn)
• Essen: Public Transport (incl. Essen Stadtbahn)

Media related to Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr at Wikimedia Commons

• Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) – official site (in English)
• Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) – official site (in German)