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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	152 (+49 night lines)
Number of stations	6.589
Website	https://www.bvg.de/en
Operation
Began operation	1846
Operator(s)	Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Number of vehicles	1,550
Technical
System length	1,798 km (1,117 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. In East Berlin the public transport agency split off from the BVG and rebranded as BVB, operating the buses in the Soviet sector of Berlin.

Currently, the BVG's fleet consists of 1,550 vehicles, which cover 300,000 kilometres per day.

As have many transit operators around the world, the BVG has set a goal to have their entire fleet running without emissions until 2030. For this reason the number of battery electric busses in Berlin is steadily rising.^[1]

History

30 October 1846 saw the first bus services from the Concessionierte Berliner Omnibus-Compagnie. In 1868, a new company was created, the ABOAG (Allgemeine Berliner Omnibus Aktien 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 three-digit numbering system was unified and implemented on 2 June 1991, just before the reunification of BVG on 1 January 1992.

Routes

Normal buses

Normal bus routes ()^[2] make up most of the network and consist of around 120 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 three-digit number. The second digit indicates the borough in which the line runs:

0 = across more than one or two 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 19 MetroBus ()^[3] lines, each running at least every 10 minutes with a 24-hour service. Unlike the other bus lines, they were shown on many tramway maps and on some railway maps of the city, in their early existence.

The MetroBus routes are:^[4]

M11: U Dahlem-Dorf ↔ S Schöneweide
M19: S Grunewald ↔ U Mehringdamm
M21: Rosenthal Nord ↔ U Jungfernheide
M27: S+U Pankow ↔ S+U Jungfernheide
M29: Grunewald, Roseneck ↔ U Hermannplatz
M32: S+U Rathaus Spandau ↔ Dallgow-Döberitz, Havelpark or Staaken, Heidebergplan
M36: Wilhelmstadt, Am Omnibushof ↔ U Haselhorst
M37: Spandau, Waldkrankenhaus ↔ Staaken, Hahneberg
M41: (Baumschulenweg) Sonnenallee/Baumschulenstraße ↔ S+U Hauptbahnhof
M43: Stralau. Tunnelstraße ↔ U Berliner Straße
M44: Buckow-Süd, Stuthirtenweg ↔ S+U Hermannstraße
M45: Spandau, Johannesstift ↔ S+U Zoologischer Garten
M46: S+U Zoologischer Garten ↔ U Britz-Süd
M48: Zehlendorf, Bussealle ↔ U Mohrenstraße
M49: (Staaken) Heerstraße/Nennhauser Damm ↔ S+U Zoologischer Garten
M76: U Walter-Schreiber-Platz ↔ S Lichtenrade
M77: Marienfelde, Waldsassener Straße ↔ U Alt-Mariendorf
M82: Marienfelde, Waldsassener Straße ↔ S+U Rathaus Steglitz
M85: S Lichterfelde Süd ↔ S+U Hauptbahnhof

Express bus

The express buses ()^[5] 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.

The ExpressBus routes are:^[4]

X7: Flughafen BER – Terminal 1-2 ↔ U Rudow
X10: S+U Zoologischer Garten ↔ Teltow, Rammrath-Brücke
X11: U Krumme Lanke ↔ S Schöneweide
X21: Märkisches Viertel, Quickborner Straße ↔ U Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
X33: Märkisches Viertel, Wilhelmsruher Damm ↔ S+U Rathaus Spandau
X34: Kladow, Kaserne Hottengrund or Kladow, Gutsstraße ↔ S+U Zoologischer Garten
X37: Falkensee Station ↔ U Ruhleben
X49: Staaken, Hahneberg or Im Spektefeld ↔ U Wilmersdorfer Straße/S Charlottenburg
X54: S+U Pankow ↔ U Hellersdorf
X69: Marzahn, Köthener Straße ↔ Köpenick, Müggelschlößchenweg
X71: U Alt-Mariendorf ↔ Flughafen BER – Terminal 1-2
X76: U Walter-Schreiber-Platz ↔ Lichtenrade, Nahariyastraße
X83: (Dahlem) Königin-Luise-Straße/Clayallee ↔ Lichtenrade, Nahariyastraße

Night buses

The night buses (N)^[6] consist of 40 lines and another nine lines to substitute (from N1 to N9) the U-Bahn (except at weekends). The N7X bus line is an express line, only serving stations with higher demand on its journey. The line can also only be taken in one direction towards the airport. The other lines serve suburban neighbourhoods not served by any public service running in daytime.

The aforementioned U-Bahn substitution night bus lines are:^[4]

N1: Warschauer Straße ↔ Zoologischer Garten
N2: Pankow ↔ Ruhleben
N3: Wittenbergplatz ↔ Mexikoplatz
N5: Hauptbahnhof ↔ Hönow
N6: Alt-Tegel ↔ Alt-Mariendorf
N7: Rathaus Spandau ↔ Flughafen BER
N7X: Zoologischer Garten → 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 coach bus station of Berlin is the Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof Berlin ("Central Omnibus Station"), also known as ZOB.^[7] It is located in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and linked to the stations of Kaiserdamm (U-Bahn) and Messe Nord/ICC^[8] (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 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 2023, the BVG bus fleet consists of 1550 buses.

Single-decker

Quantity	Manufacturer	Type	Passengers	Length	Notes
108	VDL	EN15 (Citea LLE-120)	100	12 m	In operation since 2015.
46	VDL	EN18 (Citea LLE-120)	100	12 m	In operation since 2018.
48	Mercedes-Benz	EN18 (Citaro C2)	106	12 m	In operation since 2018.
23	Mercedes-Benz	EN19 (Citaro C2)	106	12 m	In operation since 2019.
57	Mercedes-Benz	EN20 (Citaro C2)	106	12 m	In operation since 2020.
40	Mercedes-Benz	EN21 (Citaro C2)	106	12 m	In operation since 2021.
1	Solaris	EE18 (Urbino 12 electric)	90	12 m	In operation since 2018. Battery electric bus.
15	Solaris	EE19 (Urbino 12 electric)	90	12 m	In operation since 2019. Battery electric bus.
15	Mercedes-Benz	EE19 (eCitaro)	88	12 m	In operation since 2019. Battery electric bus.
90	Solaris	EE20 (Urbino 12 electric)	90	12 m	In operation since 2020. Battery electric bus.
>90	Ebusco	EE22 (Ebusco 2.2)	90	12 m	In operation since 2022. Battery electric bus. Currently in delivery.
475	Total

Bendy bus or articulated bus

Quantity	Manufacturer	Type	Passengers	Length	Notes
70^[9]	Scania	GN14 (Citywide LFA)	150	18 m	In operation since 2014.
40	Scania	GN15 (Citywide LFA)	150	18 m	In operation since 2015.
179	Scania	GN16 (Citywide LFA)	150	18 m	In operation since 2016.
67	Scania	GN18 (Citywide LFA)	150	18 m	In operation since 2018.
100	Mercedes-Benz	GN18 (Citaro C2G)	163	18 m	In operation since 2018.
40	Mercedes-Benz	GN19 (Citaro C2G)	163	18 m	In operation since 2019.
165	Mercedes-Benz	GN20 (Citaro C2G)	163	18 m	In operation since 2020.
17	Solaris	GE20 (Urbino 18 electric)	150	18 m	In operation since 2020. Battery electric bus.
251	Mercedes-Benz	GN21 (Citaro C2G)	163	18 m	In operation since 2021.
929	Total

Double-decker bus

Quantity	Manufacturer	Type	Passengers	Length	Notes
7	MAN	DL07 (Lion's City DD)	110	13.7 m	In operation since 2007.
10	MAN	DL08 (Lion's City DD)	110	13.7 m	In operation since 2008.
1	MAN	DL09 (Lion's City DD)	110	13.7 m	In operation since 2009.
1	Scania	DN15 (Citywide LFDD)	88	10.9 m	Discontinued in 2021. Only for driving tests.
2	Alexander Dennis	DL20 (Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC)	80 seated	13.8m	In operation since 2021.
>198	Alexander Dennis	DL20 (Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC)	80 seated	13.8 m	In operation since 2021. Currently in delivery.
145	Total

References

^ "Electromobility | BVG Company". Retrieved 2023-07-19.
^ "Bus (normal lines) page on BVG website" (in German). Archived from the original on 2012-07-20.
^ "MetroBus page on BVG website" (in German). Archived from the original on 2012-05-29.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Linienübersicht | BVG" [Line overview | BVG]. bvg.de. Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
^ "ExpressBus page on BVG website" (in German). Archived from the original on 2012-07-21.
^ "Night buses page on BVG website" (in German). Archived from the original on 2012-07-20.
^ Berlin ZOB location on Google Maps
^ Named Witzleben until 2002
^ "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.

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