Local transport in Wetzlar
The public transport in Wetzlar is organized by the local public transport company of the city of Wetzlar. The city of Wetzlar is responsible for this task according to the Hessian Public Transport Act. Together with 25 other central and southern Hesse authorities (districts, independent cities and special status cities), the city of Wetzlar is a partner in the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV), which ensures the uniform organization of local public transport in the network area. The city of Wetzlar has commissioned the Wetzlarer Verkehrsbetriebe , a GmbH owned by the city of Wetzlar, with the implementation of bus transport in the city area . Other lines operating on behalf of the Verkehrsgesellschaft Lahn-Dill-Weil mbH (transport authority for public transport in the Lahn-Dill district and the Limburg-Weilburg district) connect Wetzlar with the district area.
Since no trams or other means of transport are used in the city, which has more than 50,000 inhabitants, all public transport is concentrated on the bus. There are separate bus lanes at the bus station, in Gloëlstrasse and Seibertstrasse and at Buderusplatz. The inner-city traffic lights are equipped with a priority circuit for bus traffic.
history
Wetzlar had been a station for stagecoaches for a long time due to its location on Hohen Strasse . In the years 1862 and 1863, Wetzlar was connected to the German railway network with the construction of the only two railway lines still in operation today. By 1900 an extensive rail network had formed in the Wetzlar area and Wetzlar became the starting point for many railway lines to the surrounding area. In the early 20th century the use of trams was discussed, but because of the difficult local / geographical conditions, the decision was made to operate buses, whereupon the Wetzlarer Verkehrsbetriebe (WVB) was founded.
Train traffic
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Today there are two train stations in the urban area of Wetzlar: the Wetzlar train station and the Dutenhofen train station (Kr Wetzlar) . Both are on the Dill route , from which the Lahntalbahn branches off in Wetzlar . The regional express trains of the RMV line 99 Siegen - Gießen - Frankfurt am Main ( Main-Sieg-Express ) and the regional trains of the Mittelhessen-Express Dillenburg-Gießen-Frankfurt (RMV line 40/41) and the stop in Wetzlar Regional express trains of the Lahn-Eifel-Bahn Koblenz - Limburg - Giessen (RMV line 25) and the regional trains Limburg - Gießen - Fulda of the RMV line 45. The Mittelhessen-Express stops at Dutenhofen (Kr Wetzlar) occasionally Regional trains from Gießen via Wetzlar to Dillenburg and since December 2011 also most of the regional trains of the Lahntalbahn (RMV line 45).
From December 2009 to December 2011, after several years of interruption, Wetzlar was again connected to the international long-distance network: once a day an EC stopped here between Siegen and Klagenfurt with through coaches to and from Zagreb . Due to allegedly insufficient capacity utilization, however, the DB AG discontinued the offer after two years; since then the train has only run to and from Frankfurt.
There is also a direct connection from Wetzlar to Frankfurt, which branches off the Dill line east of the Dutenhofen train station and meets the Main-Weser railway in the Gießen-Bergwald station . In this way, Gießen can be bypassed to the southwest. This route is mainly used by freight traffic. In passenger transport, only the pair of RE Sprinter trains, which are primarily used for commuters to and from Frankfurt, currently use this bypass route. The local transport line from Wetzlar via Garbenheim to Lollar as part of the Kanonenbahn , the Solmsbachtalbahn from Wetzlar via Albshausen and Brandoberndorf to Grävenwiesbach and the Ulmtalbahn via Stockhausen to Beilstein were closed in the 1970s, the stop in the Garbenheim district on the Lollar-Wetzlar railway line ( Part of the Kanonenbahn) abandoned in 1977.
Wetzlar station is the fourth largest in Central Hesse after the stations in Gießen, Marburg and Limburg. In December 2002 the last Interregio stopped in Wetzlar .
Bus routes in city traffic
The city bus lines connect all parts of the city from Wetzlar to Blasbach (line 415) and Naunheim (line 24 and line 240). The central transfer point is on the one hand the central bus station / ZOB directly at the train station and on the other hand the Leitzplatz stop close to the city center. The Wetzlarer Verkehrsbetriebe transport around 3.5 million passengers annually on the 76 km long route network.
With the exception of line 17/18 , with a few exceptions , all buses run continuously from the start to the end of the line. Clock booster trips, as is often the case with other means of transport, do not take place.
The connection of individual parts of the city is also strengthened by the several overland lines, for example Naunheim with line 240, Steindorf via line 185 and Nauborn with lines 170 and 173.
number |
Line route |
comment
|
| 10 | ZOB –Westend – Steindorf district | |
| 11 | ZOB –Blankenfeld– Münchholzhausen district- Dutenhofen - Gießen | |
| 12 | Aßlar - Niedergirmes - ZOB - Spilburg / Büblingshausen - Hospital | |
| 12a | ZOB –Spilburg / Büblingshausen – Hospital – Cherry grove |
|
| 13 | Aßlar – Niedergirmes – ZOB –Stoppelberger Hohl – Hospital |
|
| 14th | ZOB - district of Nauborn | |
| 15th | Werner von Siemens School-Niedergirmes - ZOB - Spilburg / Büblingshausen / Hospital | |
| 16 | ZOB - Labor Office / Buderus - Neustadt - Dahlheim |
|
| 17/18 | Garbenheim district - ZOB - new cemetery | |
| 24 | ZOB –Niedergirmes – district Naunheim - Lahnau –Gießen |
|
| Citybus | ZOB → Old Town → ZOB |
|
| Local traffic Naunheim | Naunheim Simberg → town center → East shopping centers |
|
| Citizen bus Nauborn | Langenberg → town center → REWE shopping center and back |
|
Former lines
In the past, the following lines were served by city buses in Wetzlar.
number |
Line route |
Explanation
|
| 15th | ZOB → Steindorf |
|
| 16a | Central bus station → Dillfeld |
|
| 19th | ZOB → WZ-Blasbach → Hohenahr |
|
| 5403 | Braunfels → Solms → Wetzlar |
|
| 007 | ZOB - roundabout urban area |
|
"Minibus Lines"
As of September 1, 2010, two lines with a minibus will operate in the Wetzlar city area. On the one hand, the Citybus, which has been connecting the pedestrian zones in the old town with the train station and the Forum Wetzlar every 30 minutes since 2003 . The city bus is not legally a public transport, but a market transport. Thus the tickets of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) are not valid here, a separate tariff is applied.
As of September 2010, the Naunheim district received an inner-city bus service on a trial basis. The trial period has now been extended until further notice. This runs on Tuesdays and Fridays with a pair of trips from 9:30 a.m. from two stops in the residential area on Simberg in the direction of the town center and the grocery stores in the east of Naunheim. After a 45-minute stop, he drives back. The aim is to keep older people in the Simberg area mobile. The vehicle is also a minibus operated by the Wetzlar transport company. Here, too, it is legally a question of market traffic on which the RMV tariff does not apply.
Since January 23, another minibus has been running once a week, a so-called citizens' bus within Nauborn. The path leads from Langenberg in the center of the village to the REWE store in Artur-Herzog-Straße and back. The provider is the German Red Cross.
Clock traffic
As a rule, the lines in Wetzlar run every 20, 30 or 60 minutes during the day. On Saturdays there is a 30 or 60-minute cycle, on Sundays the lines run every 45, 60, 90, 120 or 180 minutes. On the "main line" between ZOB and Leitzplatz, on which almost all lines run, there is a connection with short cycle times.
Bus routes in overland transport
number |
Line route |
comment
|
| 120/125 | Wetzlar ZOB - Oberbiel - Leun - Allendorf - Holzhausen - Beilstein / Weilburg |
|
| 170 | Wetzlar ZOB -Schöffengrund- Bonbaden |
|
| 173 | Schöffengrund - Braunfels - Nauborn-Schulgasse - Schöffengrund |
|
| 185 | Wetzlar ZOB - Steindorf – Albshausen / Oberbiel - Niederbiel –Braunfels district |
|
| 200 | Wetzlar ZOB –Aßlar – Ehringshausen | |
| 240 | Wetzlar ZOB - Naunheim - Lahnau |
|
| 311A | Münchholzhausen -Rechtenbach |
|
| 312/313 | Wetzlar ZOB –Rechtenbach - Reiskirchen |
|
| 415 | Wetzlar ZOB -Stadtteil Blasbach - Konigsberg -Erda-Altenkirchen |
|
| 471 | Wetzlar Leitzplatz- ZOB -Aßlar- Ehringshausen - Katzenfurt |
|
With the closure of the Solmsbachtalbahn Wetzlar - Grävenwiesbach , the Ulmtalbahn Stockhausen - Beilstein and the Kanonenbahn Wetzlar - Lollar , local passenger transport from some surrounding communities to Wetzlar has increasingly shifted to the bus in recent decades. Since the mid-1980s, many lines have connected Wetzlar with its suburbs and the surrounding communities. These lines are today the responsibility of the public transport company for the Lahn-Dill district and the Limburg-Weilburg district, Verkehrsgesellschaft Lahn-Dill-Weil mbH , and are operated by the transport company commissioned by them. The ZOB and Leitzplatz stops serve as central transfer points between each other and to the city traffic lines.
With the timetable change in 2008 and again in 2009, the regular service in the Wetzlar area was renewed in stages. Many lines received new names and clocked timetables. The main change is the expansion of traffic in the evenings and on Saturdays and, for the most part, the hourly connection to and from Wetzlar. In general, only modern, low-floor solo and articulated buses from the manufacturers Iveco , MAN , Mercedes-Benz and Solaris are used .
Buses and stops
Low-floor buses are used in city traffic , including some articulated buses. The WVB use buses from the manufacturers MAN, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo . There are acoustic stop announcements in the buses to increase accessibility. Many of the 230 stops in the city have also been converted to make them barrier-free. Busy stops usually have a bus shelter or a covered shelter, the others have the stop sign, timetable information, a rubbish bin, and sometimes also a seat.
The most important stops in the city are ZOB, Leitzplatz and Krankenhaus.
Central Bus Station
The central bus station (ZOB) with its 12 stops on 3 bus platforms (commissioning: March 4, 2012) is the start and end point for most lines in urban and intercity traffic. It is also the largest bus stop in Wetzlar; there is a waiting area for buses next to the bus station. The train station, the Forum Wetzlar, the Rittal-Arena and the "Bahnhofstrasse" shopping street are in the immediate vicinity.
Leitzplatz / New Town Hall
The Leitzplatz stop with a total of 4 bus platforms is located near the old town. Due to traffic-related reasons, there is still the stop "Neues Rathaus" near Leitzplatz, which the buses out of town in the direction of Westend stop at. On the way into town, however, these buses stop at the "Leitzplatz" stop. Both stops play an important role in bus traffic, as the lines in the direction of Westend / Braunfels, Nauborn and Wetzlar-Süd meet or share here. From the Leitzplatz stop, the old town, the town hall and the Leitz works can be reached quickly on foot.
hospital
Lines 12 and 13 start at the hospital stop, line 12 a continues from here in the direction of Kirschenwäldchen. The bus stop is also reached by line 15 and the late bus line 007. A special feature of the stop is that most of the buses on lines 12/13 return here as the other line (line 12 as line 13 and vice versa) after a short stop, resulting in a circular traffic.
Former stops
The stop "Altenberger Straße" has been closed since mid-2009 (lines 125 and 185). The reason for this is that the exit "Altenberger Straße" on the B49 is no longer available, so the stop can no longer be served. Until around 2003 all city buses drove to the "Haus der Mode" stop on Karl-Kellner-Ring, but this stop was given up in favor of the "Seibertstraße" stop. The "Schellweg" stop (old line 5405) in Wetzlar-Niedergirmes is also no longer served according to the schedule. The stop signs and shelters have been removed from all stops.
future
In spring 2012, the new construction of the central bus station / ZOB at the Wetzlar train station was completed. Since May 2013, around 220 paved park and ride parking spaces have been available on the north side of the station . The station was also rebuilt to be barrier-free by May 2013.
Between 2007 and 2012, many of the shelters were replaced with new passenger shelters or were newly erected.
Due to the increased possibilities in terms of communication technology, new distribution channels for ticket sales (online ticket shop of the RMV, mobile phone ticketing) will gain in importance in the future. Electronic tickets (initially only annual tickets, weekly and monthly tickets from the beginning of 2016) have been sold since spring 2012.
The new industrial park "Leitzpark" in the south-east of the city will be connected to the city bus service by line 11 at the timetable change in December 2014 according to the plans of the local transport organization of the city of Wetzlar. From this point on, line 11 will also serve Dutenhofen station. The additional travel time required for this extension of the route is gained by the fact that the Giessen districts of Allendorf and Lützellinden will no longer be served by route 11 from this point in time.
Web links
- Local transport organization Stadt Wetzlar - timetables for Wetzlar
- Website of the transport company
- Website of the operator of Stadtverkehr Wetzlar
- Verkehrsverbund Lahn-Dill - Timetables for the Lahn-Dill district
- Route network map Wetzlar
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lahn-Dill district network map ( Memento from January 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 723 kB)
- ↑ Wetzlar route network map (city traffic) ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 33 kB)