City bus Melle
The Melle city bus serves local public transport in the city of Melle in the Osnabrück district . Today's third largest city in Lower Saxony in terms of area (254 km², around 46,500 inhabitants, 183 inhabitants per km²) was created in 1972 from the merger of the former Melle district to form an independent municipality .
The city bus system consists of six city lines operated every hour, three of which are partially continued as regional buses and serve the surrounding communities of Bissendorf and Bad Rothenfelde . Line 381, which runs to Osnabrück , takes over the tasks of a regional bus line every hour on weekdays. The network is arranged in a star shape around a central bus station (ZOB) ("Meller Stern"). The ZOB serves as a transfer and end point for all lines. Only a few journeys made by school children go to other destinations from the central bus station. The operator is Conrad Schrage GmbH & Co. KG in association with Weser-Ems Busverkehr GmbH.
history
Melle has been connected to the rail network since 1855 by the Löhne – Rheine railway line. In the course of the incorporation of 1972, further stops on this route came to the urban area: Westerhausen and Bruchmühlen . This means that important parts of the city are linked by a rail link. An intercity bus network developed u. a. in the direction of Osnabrück, Bielefeld and Bad Essen . The non-clocked lines began and ended at Melle station.
At the end of the 1990s, the Verkehrsgemeinschaft Osnabrück (VOS) was founded with the aim of integrating and continuously synchronizing city and regional bus services in Osnabrück. Melle was also included in the concept ("Osnabrück model") and in 1998 received the modern city bus network that exists today with two regional bus connections to Osnabrück. Line 381 - integrated as "81" into the Osnabrück city network - runs every hour via Bissendorf to Neumarkt in Osnabrück. Numerous bus routes for work and school transport remained and still connect the city districts and locations with one another to this day. In addition to numbers, the bus routes from Neuenkirchen were given animal pictures for elementary school children to identify the route.
For the city bus system, a new bus meeting point was built around 800 m from the train station and on the edge of the city center (at that time "on the green field"). It wasn't until almost 10 years later that shops - u. a. a food discounter and an electronics store - located. The previous continuous bus line to Bielefeld was broken in Neuenkirchen , and a continuous tariff was (and is) no longer in existence.
The city network was created in several steps; Bruchmühlen was connected as the last area. Initially, the buses sometimes ran every 30 minutes, but the demand situation made it necessary to adjust to a continuous hourly service after a few years. Weekend operations were also restricted. Only regular city buses were and are used . The last step was the Melle night bus with a connection to the N381 line from / to Osnabrück.
With the establishment of the Melle – Bad Rothenfelde line (previously operated by Kettler's Reiseienst GmbH Bad Rothenfelde), a third regional connection was created following the city network. Line 309 has been running the Melle – Wellingholzhausen – Dissen –Bad Rothenfelde route continuously since 2008 with a few trips . Sunday operations (leisure line) were also introduced here.
A modern bus platform was built in St. Annen in 2010. This improved the transfer situation to the East Westphalian line 59 Bielefeld – Spenge –Wallenbrück – St. Annen – Neuenkirchen. However, if the number of trips on this line is limited, direct connections cannot be guaranteed.
current offer
As of August 2010
- 381 : ZOB - Gesmold (- Bissendorf - Osnabrück)
- 304 : ZOB - Eicken-Bruche - Bruchmühlen train station - Bruchmühlen, school
- 305 : ZOB - Oldendorf - Westerhausen (- Bissendorf-Wissingen - Jeggen → connecting line to Osnabrück)
- 306 : ZOB - Bahnhof - Eicken-Bruche - Buer
- 307 : ZOB - Gerden - Riemsloh - St. Annen - Neuenkirchen school center
- 309 : ZOB - Sondermühlen - Wellingholzhausen (- Bad Rothenfelde )
Direct connections to all lines are guaranteed at the ZOB (rendezvous system). In the event of delays, information about connection requirements is sent by radio. Sometimes there are deviations from the hourly cycle and, especially on Saturdays, there are cycle thinnings on some lines (two-hour cycle). The city bus service ends Monday through Friday between 5 p.m. and around 7 p.m. and on Saturdays between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Lines 381 and 309 (only in the direction of Wellingholzhausen) run Monday to Friday until around 9 p.m., line 381 on Saturdays until around 6 p.m. On the nights from Saturday to Sunday, night traffic is offered at a special rate on all six lines around 8 p.m.
On Sundays, all parts of the city are served at least one basic offer. For Bruchmühlen and Oldendorf / Westerhausen there is an hourly train service for the Wiehengebirgs-Bahn . Gesmold and Wellingholzhausen can be reached with three pairs of buses each, Buer and Neuenkirchen with two pairs each. As a leisure line, line 309 continues with two journeys to Bad Rothenfelde.
Melle train station is only served by line 306 every hour during the school holidays. On school days, the Bismarckstraße stop, about 200 m away, serves as a transfer point for some trips. Buses 304 and 305 also stop here.
Line 381 runs partially continuously to Wellingholzhausen (as line 309), in Osnabrück it runs mostly as line 581 in the direction of Pye - Wallenhorst . This means that additional destinations in Melle and in the downtown area of Osnabrück and beyond can be reached without having to change trains.
Rates
Melle belongs to the Verkehrsgemeinschaft Osnabrück (VOS). The VOS tariff is valid on all buses in the Osnabrück district and in the Osnabrück / Belm city network. The urban area is divided into seven tariff areas and five price levels.