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 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.

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 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:

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).

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 OMSI 2 – The Bus Simulator 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 Aerosoft, 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

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]
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
  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. "BVG übernimmt 70 Scania Gelenkbusse" [BVG takes delivery on 70 Scania articulated buses]. Scania (in German). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  8. "BVG Unternehmen – Profil". BVG (in German). Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  9. "BVG stellt neuen Doppeldeckerbus vor". BVG (in German). Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  10. "Busflotte der BVG bekommt Zuwachs". BVG (in German). Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  11. "Neue Doppeldecker für Berlin". BVG (in German). Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  12. "Alexander Dennis wins Berlin contract for new double decker fleet". Alexander Dennis (in German). 22 October 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

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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