Long-distance bus transport in Germany

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Bus platform on the ZOB Hamburg .
The central bus station in Munich from the Hackerbrücke.

The long distance bus services in Germany is largely liberalized since early-2013. While long-distance bus lines were not allowed to transport passengers within Germany until the end of 2012, with a few exceptions, since then, in order to protect regional train traffic (subsidized by the federal states), long-distance bus services have only been banned from using routes in competition with local traffic, as can now be seen from Section 42a Passenger Transport Act (PBefG) results.

Whereas before, due to the regulatory restrictions, there were primarily international lines, airport feeders and historical lines to and from Berlin , regular buses now connect many larger German cities with each other or with tourist destinations.

International transport

Long-distance bus in Mannheim on the way to Hungary

Even before the national long-distance bus market was liberalized, international traffic could not be prohibited due to EU law . For these lines, however, there was a transport ban on domestic German routes until 2013.

IC bus of the Deutsche Bahn

Then as now, there are long-distance bus routes from Germany to almost all European countries. The offer varies greatly, however, with competition from more or less well-developed international railway lines playing a role. The main destinations are Eastern Europe (e.g. Poland , Baltic States ) and Southern Europe (e.g. Spain , Portugal ). In addition to a large number of providers such as Deutsche Bahn AG (via Omnibusverkehr Franken GmbH to Prague ) with only a few lines, Germany is integrated into the Europe-wide long-distance network of Eurolines through Deutsche Touring . For example, the company MeinFernbus , which had long been the market leader in the long-distance bus industry, operated a Europe-wide route network before it merged with Flixbus ( Flixmobility GmbH since 2016 ) in 2015 . Flixbus itself started in 2014 with cross-border routes to Austria , Switzerland and the Netherlands . The merged company , which initially appeared under the name MeinFernbus FlixBus (since May 2016 only FlixBus ), currently offers over 10,000 direct connections within Germany and other European countries. Even Berlin Linien Bus offered by the ZOB Berlin starting with international connections.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, all long-distance bus companies active in Germany have temporarily ceased operations.

National transport

definition

The provision of § 42a PBefG defines long- distance passenger transport as regular traffic with motor vehicles that does not belong to local public transport and not to the special forms of regular transport according to § 43 PBefG (school and market trips, transport of professionals between home and work or theater-goers). According to Section 8 (1) PBefG , local passenger transport is the generally accessible transport of people by trams , trolleybuses and motor vehicles in regular services, which are primarily intended to meet the demand for urban, suburban or regional transport .

In particular, the differentiation from regional bus traffic can be difficult in individual cases, since regional buses can also connect cities with each other, but only within a region or a network area or as a connection between regional areas (see also the article on long-distance traffic ). However, the law provides assistance in that it assumes that local or regional transport is still involved if, in the majority of the cases of transport of a means of transport, the total travel distance does not exceed 50 kilometers or the total travel time does not exceed one hour (Section 8 (1) Sentence 2 PBefG). This limit is also important for long-distance bus lines, because according to Section 42a PBefG, passengers are not allowed to be transported between two stops if the distance between them is not more than 50 kilometers or if local rail passenger transport is operated between these stops with a travel time of up to one hour. However, exceptions can be granted on request for individual sections of the route if there is insufficient local transport or if the passenger potential of the existing transport is only negligibly impaired.

The evolution of the legal framework

The legislation is based on the Passenger Transport Act (PBefG), the content of which has largely remained unchanged since it came into force on April 1, 1935. Until the amendment at the end of 2012, new bus routes could not be approved if the same transport service was already provided to a satisfactory extent by other means of transport (rail, existing bus routes). A new bus line to be set up had to lead to a significant improvement in the transport offer.

This was given, among other things, when the new bus route

  • served a route on which no other means of transport operated at the time,
  • had a significantly shorter travel time than existing means of transport,
  • operated at times when there was no connection with other means of transport or
  • was much cheaper than other means of transport on the same route.

The aim of the regulation was to safeguard public transport interests, in particular to prevent competition between different companies or with the railways. The legislature assumed that such a competitive situation usually had a negative effect on the traffic service of a route, and therefore protected the already existing means of transport from competitors.

For a number of years, this regulation has come under increasing criticism, as it deprives consumers of inexpensive long-distance bus routes. In addition, the inventory control unilaterally favors Deutsche Bahn as the largest long-distance train and bus company in Germany. Deutsche Bahn AG vehemently advocated maintaining the regulation, arguing that if the licensing procedures for long-distance bus routes were liberalized, certain long-distance trains could no longer be operated economically. The offer would then have to be thinned out or the connection discontinued. Some transport scientists consider these fears to be unfounded, as only a small proportion of the passengers would use the new bus routes. In addition, it is questionable whether many new long-distance bus routes would be set up in the long term if the license restrictions were removed.

Despite the objections raised, the government, opposition and federal states agreed in September 2012 that long-distance bus routes could be introduced from January 1, 2013. In order to protect local public transport , however, the transport of passengers with long-distance bus lines of less than 50 km or in competition with local public rail transport with a travel time of less than an hour will remain prohibited.

Current situation

Flixbus

Market saturation and monopoly

MeinFernbus Flixbus double decker
Postbus in front of the corporate headquarters of Deutsche Post AG in Bonn

According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), passenger numbers for German companies in long-distance bus services developed as follows:

  • 2012: 2.5 million
  • 2013: 8.2 million (+ 228%)
  • 2014: 15.9 million (+94%)
  • 2015: 23.2 million (+46%)
  • 2016: 23.0 million (−1%)
  • 2017: 22.8 million (−1%)
  • 2018: 23.1 million (+1%)

The market share of the bus in long-distance transport with buses and trains rose from 1.9 percent (2012) to 14.2 percent (2016). In 2018 it was 13.5 percent.

A total of 287 lines were offered in the third quarter of 2018. The shares of the individual transport companies in the long-distance bus market were:

The market was initially considered highly competitive. In July 2014, the Handelsblatt quoted a spokesman for the Federal Association of German Bus Entrepreneurs with the words "According to our information, no company is yet profitable". According to a market analysis by the Federal Office for Goods Transport from December 2014, "the current price level of the tickets offered in the long-distance bus market (...) is described by market participants as inadequate or ruinous ". From January 2013 to December 2014, the average normal long-distance bus fare fell by around 14 percent to 8.6 euro cents / passenger-kilometer. The offer prices decreased by 5 percent to an average of 4 ct / pkm.

In the course of 2014, ADAC left the joint venture ADAC Postbus and City2city withdrew from the market. DeinBus went bankrupt , but was able to find a new investor and continue operations. At the beginning of 2015 it was announced that the two market leaders, MeinFernbus and Flixbus, would merge. In 2016, Flixbus took over the continental European lines from Megabus and then Postbus with effect from November 1, 2016.

service

The bus drivers make personal announcements over loudspeakers after the buses have left and before they reach the next stop; some safety information is shown as a short film. The Czech provider RegioJet offers an unusually extensive service, which is only represented in Germany on the Berlin - Dresden - Prague route , as a bus attendant, similar to the train attendant on long-distance trains, is present on their buses. However, many long-distance buses, especially for night connections, are generally occupied by two bus drivers. In many long-distance buses there is an on-board sale of cold drinks, snacks and hot drinks, cold drinks and snacks are mostly available from the bus drivers, hot drinks can be purchased either from the drivers or from a hot drinks machine. The buses also have an entertainment system at each individual seat. Free Wi-Fi is now available on most bus providers in the buses, and there are 230V sockets on all seats. The long-distance buses generally have a toilet, adjustable air conditioning and closable curtains at all seats. Customer magazines of the long-distance bus companies are often displayed at the squares.

Conditions of Carriage

The conditions of carriage differ from provider to provider. For example, there are different rules for taking luggage with you. Usually one piece of hand luggage and one piece of luggage are carried free of charge. There may be an additional fee. Strollers are usually transported free of charge, bicycles for a fee, dogs and other animals are generally excluded from transport. The transport of guide dogs, on the other hand, is usually not a problem. Internet use via WLAN is free of charge on the buses operated by Deinbus.de, Flixbus, IC Bus and, in some cases, on Eurolines buses. Some providers such as Flixbus have also developed a free smartphone app that promises mobile access to information, for example about delays and stops.

history

Long-distance buses in the German Empire

National long-distance bus routes have developed from intercity bus transport. In the 1930s, long-distance lines were bus routes that connected regions and larger cities with one another beyond city limits. Today's regional buses were included; there was no division into long-distance and regional traffic. Many excursion routes , for example from Bielefeld via then still independent rural communities to Oerlinghausen , were referred to as "long-distance routes" by the local transport companies.

The first "long-distance lines" in the Berlin area were set up in 1907 by the Great Berlin Motoromnibus Company and a little later by ABOAG . There were excursion lines from Berlin or its suburbs to the surrounding area at the time, such as Nollendorfplatz - Paulsborn or Wannsee station - Machnower Schleuse . From 1927 on, the ABOAG lines were referred to as "triangle lines" because of the triangle shown on the line number plate, and long-distance excursion lines were operated to destinations such as Rheinsberg and Lehnin Monastery, which were relatively far away for the times . These were continued after the merger to form the BVG . Other destinations in the surrounding area were served on routes such as Vinetastraße - Summt and Turmstraße - Teltow .

Long-distance buses in the Federal Republic and West Berlin

In the course of the reconstruction of the intercity bus networks around the 1980s or through the "regionalization" (separate responsibilities for bus and rail traffic, organization of bus traffic by districts or municipalities ), a strict separation between long-distance (long-distance bus) and regional (regional bus) services arose ). Many previous long-distance lines disappeared. For example, buses used to run parallel to the railway (including Bielefeld - Bad Rothenfelde - Osnabrück ) as a rail supplement or replacement or connected larger cities via rural branch lines (including Bielefeld – Bad Rothenfelde– Münster ). As a result of the breakdown of regions in composite areas there was a refraction of these compounds (in the Bielefeld-Osnabrück-Münster emerged three traffic communities / networks). At the same time, the aim was to steer the flow of passengers: parallel traffic to the rail was to be dismantled, and bus traffic was to be given a supply and supplementary function.

Many long-distance lines from the time of the division of Germany, such as B. Tübingen – Lindau were given up in the last 15 years. Routes still served such as B. Stuttgart – Isny ​​are regionalized today. Most of the lines were operated by the former Deutsche Bundesbahn and the former Kraftpost . The "Europabuslinien" of Deutsche Touring were also given up for economic reasons. In most cases, necessary changes to the concessions in accordance with EU directives were no longer possible.

A product called Interregio-Bus connected Heilbronn and Würzburg in the 1980s / 90s .

Due to the division of Germany, the BVG (West) could only serve excursion destinations within West Berlin .

Long-distance buses in the GDR

In contrast to the western part of the city was in East Berlin of the VEB Kombinat Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVB) targets further move to the surrounding area. It was separated into excursion lines such as Vinetastraße - Zühlsdorf and longer long-distance excursion lines such as Antonplatz - Tiefensee ( Gamengrund ) and S-Bahn station Stalinallee (later from Puschkinallee ) - Bad Saarow . The longest line was Pankow, Kirche - Schildow - Hohen Neuendorf - Marwitz - Kremmen - Beetz-Sommerfeld . After reunification , all lines were discontinued without replacement in 1992.

In the GDR there was no clear distinction between regional and long-distance bus traffic. Both regular buses and coaches - mostly manufactured by Ikarus - were used in overland transport. Most of the long-distance bus routes were connections between medium-sized towns and large cities . In contrast to the normal regional traffic of the regional VEB Kraftverkehr , which extended maximally to the nearest city in the area of ​​the adjacent motor transport company, these lines crossed z. Sometimes the areas of several motor transport companies, drove significantly less often and often use the motorway on parts of the route . For example, two lines connected Neuruppin with East Berlin (then “Berlin - capital of the GDR”) on the routes Neuruppin - Fehrbellin - Königshorst - Nauen and Neuruppin - Fehrbellin - Kremmen - Birkenwerder (connection to the Berlin S-Bahn ). After the fall of the Wall , the end point of this line was moved to Berlin Jannowitzbrücke and the route was swiveled onto the motorway from Fehrbellin - previously from Kremmen. However, the old buses were still used. At least for a time cross-country skiers were practiced in almost all districts , for example from Karl-Marx-Stadt to Leipzig and from Dessau via Lutherstadt Wittenberg to Potsdam .

International traffic was also carried out occasionally, but due to the political conditions at the time, it only extended to a few countries. For example, VEB Kraftverkehr Karl-Marx-Stadt (after the reunification Kraftverkehr AG Chemnitz ) operated long-distance bus services on the Karl-Marx-Stadt - Karlovy Vary route .

After reunification , most of the routes were completely closed, the remaining ones were regionalized. The Neuruppin - Nauen route is now served by three regional lines - each on partial routes - which results in multiple transfers with long transitions and without evening service.

Situation before liberalization

Long-distance bus lines now preferentially connect the centers of larger cities, which in Germany are already well networked by rail. Therefore, long-distance buses could practically not contribute to an improvement of the traffic service in terms of the old PBefG, which limited the establishment of such lines to a few exceptions (e.g. night trips). Therefore, until 2013, long-distance bus routes were almost exclusively found on corridors with no or only poor rail connections. However, Berlin Linien Bus GmbH was allowed to continue operating and expanding the long-distance bus routes to and from Berlin, which were created at the time of the division of Germany due to the limited rail connections at the time .

Environmental balance

According to information published by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) in 2020 (reference year 2018), the long-distance bus causes significantly fewer air pollutants per passenger kilometer (pkm) than the passenger car or the airplane and is at about the same level as the railroad in long-distance traffic . According to the UBA's calculations, greenhouse gases emit 29 g / pkm of CO 2 equivalents, long-distance railways 32 g / pkm, cars 147 g / pkm and airplanes on domestic routes 230 g / pkm. For the data for the railways, the UBA assumed the average electricity mix in Germany. The German railway calls for their long-distance less than 1 g / pkm CO 2 equivalents, because in this division on electrified lines in Germany exclusively green electricity used.

See also

literature

  • Dieter Hanke, Kirsten Krämer: The long-distance bus market in Germany . In: Omnibusspiegel , issue 14-3, pp. 8-13, Verlag Dieter Hanke, Bonn 2014, ISSN  0724-7664
  • Dieter Hanke, Kirsten Krämer: Nothing works without SMEs. The long-distance bus providers in Germany . In: Omnibusspiegel , Heft 14–3, pp. 14–23
  • Dieter Hanke, Kirsten Krämer: buses for long-distance lines . In: Omnibusspiegel , Heft 14–3, pp. 24–33
  • Dieter Hanke, Kirsten Krämer: Access for everyone. From 2016, newly registered long-distance buses must have two wheelchair spaces, from 2020 all vehicles used on long-distance routes . In: Omnibusspiegel , issue 14–3, pp. 34/35
  • Marc Bantien: The liberalization of the German long-distance bus service: Analysis of opportunities and market risks for entrepreneurs, cities and users (Bachelor thesis at the University of Technology, Stuttgart, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Infrastructure Management course) (edited 03/2014 - 06/2014)
  • Björn Goldbach: The liberalization of long-distance bus service in Germany: Significance for tourism using the example of the Western Pomerania holiday region (Master's thesis at the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the Institute for Geography and Geology in the Tourism and Regional Development course, submitted on June 28, 2016)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Dieter Fockenbrock: Competition between two state corporations . In: Handelsblatt . No. 244, December 17, 2012, ISSN  0017-7296 , p. 18 f
  2. a b Breakthrough to the amendment of the Passenger Transport Act ( Memento from January 6, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ), press release from the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development from September 14, 2012 (with a link to a corresponding press release from the parliamentary groups involved on the same day)
  3. Long-distance buses can compete with railways
  4. Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92 (PDF) of the Council of March 16, 1992 on the introduction of common rules for cross-border passenger transport by coach and bus
  5. Regulation (EEC) No. 2454/92 (PDF) laying down the conditions for the approval of transport companies for passenger transport with COM within a member state in which they are not based ( Cabotage Regulation)
  6. a b Text of the Passenger Transport Act .
  7. Archive link ( Memento from July 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  8. https://www.flixbus.de/impressum
  9. dpa: Fusion of long-distance buses. In: FAZ.net . January 7, 2015, accessed October 13, 2018 .
  10. https://www.facebook.com/FlixBusDE/posts/1001649506549516:0
  11. https://www.flixbus.de/busfahrplan-bushaltestelle
  12. https://www.flixbus.de/coronavirus-informationen
  13. https://www.eurolines.de/de/service-infos/coronavirus-informationen/
  14. Steffen Fruendt: Decades on the hard shoulder . In: Die Welt , October 15, 2006. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  15. Eco-alternative long-distance bus . In: the daily newspaper .
  16. ^ A law of 1934 prohibits long-distance buses for buses . In: Der Tagesspiegel .
  17. Federal Statistical Office: Fachserie 8, series 1.1. Traffic currently 03/2020. In: www.destatis.de. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  18. Number of long-distance bus routes offered in Germany , Statista.de, accessed on April 19, 2020
  19. Market shares of the largest long-distance bus providers in Germany according to the number of kilometers offered , Statista.de, accessed on April 19, 2020
  20. ^ "Long-distance buses do not benefit from the boom" , Handelsblatt.de, July 15, 2014, accessed on July 21, 2014
  21. Market analysis of long-distance bus service 2014 , Federal Office for Goods Transport, accessed on April 4, 2015.
  22. Two-year balance sheet: long-distance bus providers are fiercely competitive - up to 20 million passengers expected , IGES Institute, accessed on April 5, 2015.
  23. ↑ Number of passengers doubled: almost 20 million long-distance bus passengers in 2014 , Fernbusse.de, accessed on April 4, 2015.
  24. Schlesiger, Christian: MeinFernbus and Flixbus: A new transport company is born. In: Wirtschaftswoche, January 7, 2015. Accessed April 4, 2015.
  25. FlixBus Android app. chip.de, accessed on November 4, 2014 .
  26. Federal Environment Agency: Comparison of the average emissions of individual modes of transport in passenger transport. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  27. Deutsche Bahn: Integrated Report 2019. March 26, 2020, accessed on April 18, 2020 .