Bus transport in Berlin
Encyclopedia
Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
The is the main public transport company of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It manages the city's U-Bahn underground railway, tram, bus and ferry networks, but not the S-Bahn urban rail system....
, is the public bus service network of Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1846, it represents the oldest public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
service of the city. Its fleet consists of 1,300 vehicles circa, that make comprehensively 300,000 kilometers per day.
History
October 30, 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 January 1, 1929 then merged with other Berlin public transport companies to create the BVG.Normal buses
The normal buses (Bus) represents the majority of the network and consist of around 300 lines, numbered from 100 to 399. The most famous line is the 100, due to the tourist route taken from AlexanderplatzAlexanderplatz
Alexanderplatz is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin, near the Fernsehturm. Berliners often call it simply Alex, referring to a larger neighborhood stretching from Mollstraße in the northeast to Spandauer Straße and the City Hall in the southwest.-Early...
to the Zoological Garden passing through many of Berlin's main sights. The suburban buses, operating outside of Berlin and not managed by BVG, are included in the tariff area of Berliner public transports
Transport in Berlin
Berlin has developed a highly complex transportation infrastructure providing very diverse modes of urban mobility. 979 bridges cross 197 kilometers of innercity waterways, of roads run through Berlin, of which are motorways....
.
Each bus line is composed by 3 ciphers. The second indicates the borough
Boroughs and localities of Berlin
Berlin is both a city and one of Germany’s federal states. It is made up of twelve boroughs , each with its own borough government, though all boroughs are subject to Berlin’s city and state government.-History:Each borough is made up of several officially recognized localities...
in which the line runs:
- 0 = across more than 1 or 2 boroughs
- 1 = for the former boroughs of WilmersdorfWilmersdorfWilmersdorf is an inner city locality of Berlin, formerly a borough by itself but since Berlin's 2001 administrative reform a part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.-History:...
and Zehlendorf - 2 = for the district of ReinickendorfReinickendorfReinickendorf is the twelfth borough of Berlin. It encompasses the northwest of the city area, including the Berlin-Tegel Airport, Lake Tegel, spacious settlements of detached houses as well as housing estates like Märkisches Viertel.-Subdivision:...
- 3 = for the district of SpandauSpandauSpandau is the fifth of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is the fourth largest and westernmost borough, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and along the western bank of the Havel, but the least populated.-Overview:...
- 4 = for the districts of MitteMitteMitte is the first and most central borough of Berlin. It was created in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by the merger of the former districts of Mitte proper, Tiergarten and Wedding; the resulting borough retained the name Mitte. It is one of the two boroughs which comprises former West and...
and Friedrichshain-KreuzbergFriedrichshain-KreuzbergFriedrichshain-Kreuzberg is the second borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former East Berlin borough of Friedrichshain and the former West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg... - 5 = for the district of PankowPankowPankow is the third borough of Berlin. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was merged with the former boroughs of Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee; the resulting borough retained the name Pankow.- Overview :...
and the former one of HohenschönhausenHohenschönhausenHohenschönhausen was a borough of Berlin, that existed from 1985 until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. It was composed by the localities of Alt-Hohenschönhausen , Neu-Hohenschönhausen, Malchow, Wartenberg and Falkenberg.-Overview:... - 6 = for the district of Treptow-KöpenickTreptow-KöpenickTreptow-Köpenick is the ninth borough of Berlin, Germany, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Treptow and Köpenick.-Overview:...
- 7 = for the districts of Tempelhof-SchönebergTempelhof-SchönebergTempelhof-Schöneberg is the seventh borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former boroughs of Tempelhof and Schöneberg.-Geography:...
and NeuköllnNeuköllnNeukölln is the eighth borough of Berlin, located in the southeastern part of the city and was part of the former American sector under the Four-Power occupation of the city... - 8 = for the former district of SteglitzSteglitzSteglitz is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in the south-west of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The locality also includes the neighbourhood of Südende.-History:...
- 9 = for the district of Marzahn-HellersdorfMarzahn-HellersdorfMarzahn-Hellersdorf is the tenth borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf.-Geography:It is situated in the northeast of Berlin...
and the former one of LichtenbergLichtenberg (locality)Lichtenberg is a locality of Berlin in the homonymous district of Lichtenberg. Until 2001 it was an autonomous district with the localities of Fennpfuhl, Rummelsburg, Friedrichsfelde and Karlshorst.- History :...
MetroBus
As for the MetroTram lines, there are 17 MetroBus (M) lines, each running every 10 minutes with a 24h service. Unlike the other bus lines, they are shown on many tramway maps and in some maps showing all the public urban railways 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-BahnBerlin U-Bahn
The Berlin is a rapid transit railway in Berlin, the capital city of Germany, and is a major part of the public transport system of that city. Opened in 1902, the serves 173 stations spread across ten lines, with a total track length of , about 80% of which is underground...
(excepted weekends). The other lines serve the suburban quarters not served by any public service running in daytime.
Other services
Out of the public buses managed by BVG and by other local companies, in the city there are hundreds of private touristic coaches. For national and international routes an important company based in the city is the Berlin Linien Bus. The main bus stationBus station
A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...
of Berlin is the Zentraler Omnibus-Bahnhof (central omnibus station), also known as ZOB . It is located in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf is the fourth borough of Berlin, formed in the 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf.-Overview:Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf covers the western centre of the City of Berlin...
and linked to the stations of Kaiserdamm
Kaiserdamm (Berlin U-Bahn)
Kaiserdamm is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the . It is linked to the Berlin S-Bahn station of Messe Nord/ICC .Opened in 1908, this station was build by A.Grenander. 1936 it was renamed to Kaiserdamm/Messedamm and 1967 it got the name Adenauerdamm...
(U-Bahn
Berlin U-Bahn
The Berlin is a rapid transit railway in Berlin, the capital city of Germany, and is a major part of the public transport system of that city. Opened in 1902, the serves 173 stations spread across ten lines, with a total track length of , about 80% of which is underground...
) and Messe Nord/ICC (S-Bahn
Berlin S-Bahn
The Berlin S-Bahn is a rapid transit system in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It consists of 15 lines and is integrated with the mostly underground U-Bahn to form the backbone of Berlin's rapid transport system...
).
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 BerlinWest Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
that features the MAN SD200 and MAN SD202 double-decker bus
Double-decker bus
A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or 'decks'. Global usage of this type of bus is more common in outer touring than in its intra-urban transportion role. Double-decker buses are also commonly found in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and former British colonies and protectorates...
es with a complex set of functions and made in various years. The player operates these buses along line 92 (currently M37) that served the Staaken
Staaken
Staaken is a locality at the western rim of Berlin within the borough of Spandau. In the west it shares border with the Brandenburg municipalities of Falkensee and Dallgow-Döberitz in the Havelland district. Buildings range from small detached houses in the west to larger 1960s and 1970s housing...
, Wilhelmstadt
Wilhelmstadt
Wilhelmstadt is a German locality of Berlin in the borough of Spandau.-History:In the year 1945 the allied armed forces from the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom accomplished an exchange of territory, among the area of Seeburg in Spandau...
, Altstadt
Altstadt
Altstadt is the German language word for "old town", meaning "historical city centre within the city wall", in contrast to a Neustadt built outside later....
, and Falkenhagener Feld
Falkenhagener Feld
Falkenhagener Feld is a German locality of Berlin in the borough of Spandau.-History:The project to build a residential complex in the rural area of west Spandau and close to the village of Falkenhagen, started in 1962 . The locality, situated at the borders of West Berlin with East Germany, was...
localities in the borough of Spandau
Spandau
Spandau is the fifth of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is the fourth largest and westernmost borough, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and along the western bank of the Havel, but the least populated.-Overview:...
.
Literature
- Dieter Gammrath, Hein Jung: "Berliner Omnibusse". Alba, DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
1988, ISBN 3-87094-334-3 - Gammrath, Jung, Schmiedeke: "Berliner Omnibusse". Alba, Düsseldorf 1999, ISBN 3-87094-359-9