Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe
Encyclopedia
Transport association
In the United Kingdom and other countries, a transport association is an association of public transport authorities in a large urban area. The modes of transport can include both private and government owned bodies.In aims of a transport association are...
run by 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...
providers in the Upper Elbe area of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
state of Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. The VVO area comprises the city of Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, together with the districts of Meißen and Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge
Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge
Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge is a district in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is named after the mountain ranges Saxon Switzerland and Erzgebirge.- History :...
, and the north-western part of the district of Bautzen
Bautzen (district)
Bautzen is a district in the Free State of Saxony in Germany including the former districts of Bischofswerda and Kamenz. It is bounded by the Czech Republic, the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, the district-free city Dresden and the districts of Meißen and Görlitz...
.
On 24 May 1998, a uniform public transport tariff system was adopted by the VVO's member companies. The joint area is divided into 21 tariff zones, the largest of which extends over the entire city of Dresden.
Members
The following companies are members of the association:- DB Regio Südost (Deutsche Bahn)DB RegioDB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
- Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG
- Hochlandexpress Straßenverkehrsunternehmen Christoph Wessel e.K.
- Kreisverkehrsgesellschaft Riesa-Großenhain mbH
- Müller Busreisen
- Oberelbische Verkehrsgesellschaft Pirna-Sebnitz mbH
- Pulsnitztal-Reisen, Omnibusbetrieb H.Tronicke
- Regionalbus Oberlausitz GmbH
- Regionalverkehr Dresden GmbH
- Reisedienst Dreßler
- Sächsische Dampfeisenbahngesellschaft mbHSaxon Steam Railway CompanyThe Saxon Steam Railway Company , formerly the BVO Bahn, is a German railway company in Saxony, that operates several Saxon narrow gauge railways...
- Sächsische Dampfschifffahrt GmbH
- Satra Eberhardt
- Taxi-, Mietwagen- und Omnibusunternehmen Uwe Jurk
- Verkehrsgesellschaft Meißen mbH
- Verkehrsgesellschaft Schwarze Elster mbH
Transport modes
The Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe covers a broad spectrum of transport modes. These include the regional trains operated by DB RegioDB Regio
DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
, the Dresden S-Bahn
Dresden S-Bahn
The Dresden S-Bahn provides commuter train services in Dresden and the surrounding area. It was established in 1973 and comprises three lines...
, the city tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s of Dresden, city bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es, regional buses, and the numerous ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
across the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
.
In addition, there are some more unusual modes, which the VVO network terms special tourist services. These include two funicular
Funicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
s in Dresden, the Standseilbahn Dresden
Standseilbahn Dresden
The Dresden Funicular Railway is a funicular in Dresden, Germany connecting the districts of Loschwitz, near the "Blue Wonder" bridge, and Weisser Hirsch...
and the Schwebebahn Dresden
Schwebebahn Dresden
The Schwebebahn Dresden is one of the oldest suspension railways — a kind of hanging monorail — in the world, having opened in 1901. It is situated in Dresden, Germany, and connects the districts of Loschwitz and Oberloschwitz . The line is 274 metres long and is supported on...
. Also included are the Kirnitzschtalbahn, a rural tramway line, and the Bad Schandau Elevator
Bad Schandau Elevator
The Bad Schandau elevator is a passenger truss-tower elevator built in 1904 at Bad Schandau, which runs from Bad Schandau on the Ostrau. The height of the elevator is 52.26 m, in art nouveau arranged steel framework tower upward, which has a diameter of 5.20 m at the ground and at the...
, both located in the scenic Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sandstone Mountains....
area. Although the special tourist services are part of the grouping they are subject to special tariffs, and the standard VVO fares do not apply.
The cross-border Schöna to Hřensko Ferry is not a tourist attraction, but it is also not part of the joint tariff. Instead there are separate tariffs denominated in euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
and Czech koruna
Czech koruna
The Czech koruna or Czech crown has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 8 February 1993 when, together with its Slovak counterpart, it replaced the Czechoslovak koruna at par....
.