Locale Berlin, Germany Number of lines 329 (+39 night lines) Operator(s) BVG | Transit type Public bus transport Began operation 1846 | |
 | ||
Number of vehicles MAN Lion's City, MAN ND 202 | ||
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.
Contents
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 1 January 1992.
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:
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 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.
BVG Bus Fleet
As of 2015, the BVG bus fleet consisted of 1300 buses.
Single Decker
Long Bus (not classified as bendy buses)
Bendy Bus
Double Decker