Bus transport in Berlin


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 Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, although during the Cold War-era division of the city they operated in West Berlin only. BVG's fleet consists of 1,300 vehicles, which cover 300,000 kilometres per day.

History

30 October 1846 saw the first bus services from the Concessionierte Berliner Omnibus-Compagnie. In 1868, a new company was created, the ABOAG 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.

Routes

Normal buses

Normal bus routes 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:
As for the MetroTram lines, there are 17 MetroBus 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.
The list of Metrobus routes are:
The express buses 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 TXL.
The night buses, consisting of 45 lines, substitute the U-Bahn. 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. The main bus station of Berlin is the Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof Berlin, also known as ZOB. It is located in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and linked to the stations of Kaiserdamm and Messe Nord/ICC.

In popular culture

On 18 February 2011 MR Software released "OMSI - The Bus Simulator" 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 that served the Staaken, Wilhelmstadt, Altstadt, and Falkenhagener Feld localities in the borough of Spandau.
And on 11 December 2013. MR Software also released “OMSI 2 - The Bus Simulator” for Windows.
It is the sequel to OMSI - The Bus Simulator. It features the MAN NL202 and the MAN NG272. The player can enjoy the bus lines 5, 92 and other add-ons which is community developed.
It is sold on Aerosoft, Steam and Halycon.

Fleet

BVG Bus Fleet

As of 2015, the BVG bus fleet consisted of 1300 buses.
Single Decker
Lengthened Bus
Bendy Bus or Articulated Bus
Double Decker
Future Bus

Literature