Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen

Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen
Irizar battery-electric busses in Schaffhausen in 2023
FoundedJanuary 1, 2019 (2019-01-01)
LocaleCanton of Schaffhausen
Routes15
Fleet
Annual ridership11.7 million (2022)[1]: 1 
Websitewww.vbsh.ch

Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen (lit.'Schaffhausen transport company') is a public transport company in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen. It operates bus and trolleybus lines covering the city of Schaffhausen and the surrounding canton, with one regional bus line passing through German territory.

Lines

Urban bus routes (1, 3–9) of vbsh in Schaffhausen and Neuhausen am Rheinfall as of December 2023
Regional bus routes (21–25, 27, 28) of vbsh as of December 2023

With the exception of bus routes 9, 27 and 28, all services stop in the forecourt of Schaffhausen railway station. Line 9 stops next to Herblingen railway station, line 27 next to Wilchingen-Hallau railway station and line 28 next to Beringen Badischer Bahnhof. The urban bus routes call at stations in the municipalities of Schaffhausen and Neuhausen am Rheinfall. Route 25 crosses the Swiss–German border four times in one journey.

As of the December 2023 timetable change, Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen operates fifteen routes:[2]

Urban

Regional

Fleet

As of 2022, Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen owns a fleet of 69 vehicles, comprising 15 battery electric buses of Irizar, 7 trolleybuses of Hess and 47 diesel powered buses of Mercedes-Benz (of which 25 operate as regional buses).[1]: 34 

Electrification

Line 1 (and former lines 2 and 9) are operated by trolleybuses since the closing of the Schaffhausen tramway network in 1966.

It is intended to replace all diesel powered buses currently operating wihtin the city with battery electric buses in the near future.[3] The preconditions in Schaffhausen are useful for the operation of an electric bus fleet. The advantages are twofold:[4]

  • The twelve charging stations are located in the forecourt of Schaffhausen railway station, which is at or near the lowest point of altitude on most routes, while the terminal bus stops are situated higher up on the surrounding hills. Buses can therefore charge their batteries before continuing their journey uphill and partially recharge their batteries through regenerative braking on their way back to Schaffhausen station
  • The Rhine hydro-electric power plant (Rheinkraftwerk), located near the charging stations, provides enough electricity to power the buses throughout the year

History

The Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen was created on January 1, 2019, from the merger of two existing companies: the Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen [de], which served the city of Schaffhausen, and the Regionale Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen [de], which served the canton. The two companies had coordinated operations for many years prior to the merger.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen. "Geschäftsbericht 2022" (PDF) (in German).
  2. ^ "Regionalbusse vbsh" (PDF) (in German). 10 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Elektrifizierung [Electrification]" (in German). vbsh. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Elektrobusstadt Schaffhausen [Electric bus town Schaffhausen]" (in German). vbsh. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Zusammenschluss der Busbetriebe abgeschlossen". Schaffhauser Nachrichten [de] (in German). 8 August 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2023.