Bus transport in Berlin

Bus transport in Berlin

MAN Lion's City DD double decker bus
Overview
Locale	Berlin, Germany
Transit type	Public bus transport
Number of lines	329 (+39 night lines)
Operation
Began operation	1846
Operator(s)	Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Number of vehicles	MAN Lion's City,
Technical
System length	1,662 km (1,033 mi)

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 the Berlin Transport Company (German: 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.

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 the Berlin Wall, the transport companies were no longer able to cope 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 2 June 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:

• 0 = across more than 1 or 2 boroughs
• 1 = for the former boroughs of Wilmersdorf and Zehlendorf
• 2 = for the district of Reinickendorf
• 3 = for the district of Spandau
• 4 = for the districts of Mitte and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
• 5 = for the district of Pankow and the former one of Hohenschönhausen
• 6 = for the district of Treptow-Köpenick
• 7 = for the districts of Tempelhof-Schöneberg and Neukölln
• 8 = for the former district of Steglitz
• 9 = for the district of Marzahn-Hellersdorf and the former one of Lichtenberg

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 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
• M36 (formerly 236 and X36): Am Omnibushof – U Haselhorst
• 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

Express bus[]

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 the former TXL bus line (Tegel Airport – Alexanderplatz), which ceased service after the closure of Tegel airport.

• X7: Flughafen BER – Rudow
• 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
• X49: Staaken – Messe Nord/ICC
• X54: Pankow – Hellersdorf
• X69: Marzahn – Köpenick, Müggelschlößchenweg
• X71: U Alt-Mariendorf – Flughafen BER
• 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.

• N1: Warschauer Straße ↔ Zoologischer Garten
• N2: Pankow ↔ Ruhleben
• N3: Wittenbergplatz ↔ Mexikoplatz
• N5: Alexanderplatz ↔ Hönow
• N6: Alt-Tegel ↔ Alt-Mariendorf
• N7: Rathaus Spandau ↔ Flughafen BER
• N8: Märkisches-Viertel ↔ Hermannstraße
• N9: Osloer Straße ↔ Rathaus Steglitz

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).

In popular culture[]

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. On 11 December 2013, MR Software released for Windows, the sequel to OMSI – The Bus Simulator. It features the MAN NL202 and the MAN NG272 in addition to the buses featured in OMSI (MAN SD200/SD202). 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 , Steam and Halycon.

Fleet[]

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

Single-decker[]

Quantity	Manufacturer	Type	Passengers	Length	Notes	Photo
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
15	Mercedes-Benz	EN19 eCitaro	70	12 m	Electric bus

Lengthened bus[]

Quantity	Manufacturer	Type	Passengers	Length	Notes	Photo
67	Mercedes-Benz	LN02 Citaro L		15 m

Bendy bus or articulated bus[]

Quantity	Manufacturer	Type	Passengers	Length	Notes	Photo
32	MAN	GN03 Lion's City G A23	fewer than 99	18 m	To be retired by 2017–2019
36	Mercedes-Benz	GN03 Citaro G	fewer than 99	18 m
130	Solaris	GN05 Urbino 18	fewer than 99	18 m	6 buses have been sold to Bratislava.
	Solaris	GN07 Urbino 18	fewer 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

Double-decker bus[]

The BVG operates some 416 double-decker buses.^[8]

Quantity	Manufacturer	Type	Passengers	Length	Notes	Photo
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	VDL	DN15 Citea DLF 114	97	11.4 m	Prototype[9]
1	Scania	DN15 Citywide LFDD	88	10.9 m	Prototype[10]
1	Alexander Dennis	Enviro 500 MMC		12.9 m	Prototype (demonstration only)

Future bus[]

Quantity	Manufacturer	Type	Passengers	Length	Notes	Photo
200	Alexander Dennis	Enviro500 MMC	80 seated	13.8m	Minimum 70,[11] option for 430[12]

References[]

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

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bus transport in Berlin.

• Route planner by WikiRoutes.info
• BVG official website
• Bus transport page on BVG website