Bus transport in Berlin

Bus transport in Berlin

MAN ND 202 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)	BVG
Number of vehicles	MAN Lion's City, MAN ND 202
Technical
System length	1,662 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

Berlin buses are operated by BVG, the public bus service network of Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1846, it is the oldest public transport service of the city. Its fleet consists of some 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 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 January 1, 1992.

Routes

Normal buses

Normal bus routes (Bus) 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 (M) 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.

ExpressBus

The express buses (X) are 13 rapid lines, mainly used to reach the airports or linking the suburbs to the city centre, with far fewer stops.

Night buses

The night buses (N), 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. For national and international routes an important company based in the city is the Berlin Linien Bus. The main bus station of Berlin is the Zentraler Omnibus-Bahnhof (central omnibus station), also known as ZOB. It is located in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and linked to the stations of Kaiserdamm (U-Bahn) and Messe Nord/ICC (S-Bahn).

In popular culture

On February 18, 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.

Fleet

BVG Bus Fleet

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

Single Decker

Quantity	Manufacturer	Type	Passengers	Length	Footnotes	Photo
77	Mercedes-Benz	EN02 Citaro	60-70	12 m
9	MAN	EN03 Lion´s City A21	60-70	12 m
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

Long Bus (not classified as bendy buses)

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

Bendy Bus

Quantity	Manufacturer	Type	Passengers	Length	Footnotes	Photo
32	MAN	GN03 Lion´s City G A23	less than 99	18 m
36	Mercedes-Benz	GN03 Citaro G	less than 99	18 m
130	Solaris	GN05 Urbino 18	less than 99	18 m
	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	Scania	GN14 Citywide LFA	99	18 m
	Scania	GN15 Citywide LFA	99	18 m
416

Double Decker

Quantity	Manufacturer	Type	Passengers	Length	Footnotes	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
1	Scania	DN15 Citywide LF	88	10,9 m	Prototype
418

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

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

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