Under way by bus
The busses of Nuremberg
We are operating around 350 busses on 61 lines. They cover 15 million kilometres per year and carry about 67 million passengers.
More than 80 years of bus operation
In Nuremberg and the neighbouring cities of Fürth, Erlangen, Oberasbach, Schwabach, Schwaig, Stein and Zirndorf we are operating 61 bus lines with a total route-length of almost 620 kilometres. Each year our 258 own vehicles and 100 rented ones cover a total of 15 million kilometres if all lines are put together, while carrying 67 million people to their destinations. The bus is a reliable vehicle and a pillar of public transport.
A celebratee with allrounder talents
Omnibus is Latin for "for everybody".
It is safe. Reliable. Economic. Comfortable thanks to stepless acces by lowering device: For all who travel with a baby carriage, heavy luggage or for those who are not so agile any more. It is flexible, thanks to extra-vehicles which can be put into operation at short notice when demand reaches its peak, which is favorable to pupils and working people. There are three different bus sizes for optimal transport and comfort for passengers on all lines:
the low-floor articulated bus the low-floor solo bus and the smaller medium-bus
Specialists at work
Our buses are maintenanced in the company-owned bus workshop. It employs qualified personnel from all necessary areas - motor-mechanics to vehicle-electronics technicians. Besides repair and maintenance, general inspections are also carried out in our own test facilities, together with safety inspections, emission tests and speedometer checks. In the course of these inspections quality assurance measures are being applied. The central bus-maintenance-workshop is an acknowleged and licensed test center.
One of our main concerns: the environmental aspect
Based on sophisticated and highly-perfected technology our buses are fully in line with the current trends by utilizing alternative and low-emission fuels. For years now we have been adding 10 to 15 percent of biodiesel to the usual low-sulphur diesel fuels. With innovative ideas and contributions - often way ahead of their time - we try to do our part in environmental protection and resource conservation, but never at the expense of the security of our passengers. For that reason we are considered particularly modern and progressive among German transportation companies. In acquiring new vehicles and refitting the existing fleet, we always consider suggestions from various sources - for example from handicapped or disabled-organizations and the passenger advisory board - to base our considerations and decisions on them.
Besides the development and testing of new drive concepts, sound emissions have been reduced so thoroughly that all our low-floor buses have been rated as low-noise.
As the first company in Germany we have been awarded the "blue environmental angel" for or our natural-gas buses, an award only bestowed on particulary low-emission and low-noise vehicles.
Mostly for reasons of energy-politics we`ve decided on natural-gas drive for our busses. The white gas tank on their roof is the distinguishing characteristic of a natural-gas bus. One tankful suffices for the distance it usually covers during an average day, around 370 kilometers.
Since February 1998 we dispose of one of the largest natural-gas bus-fleets in Europe. At the same time the then largest European rapid-refueling-facility for natural-gas buses opened at our depot in Schweinau. By the end of 2005 our natural-gas bus-fleet will total 65. A relief also for pedestrians, because natural-gas buses are running exceptionally noiseless and their emissions are odorless and free of soot particles.
Faster than the pulse of time
Diesel-electric bus
In the spring of 1998 a new development was introduced on a trial basis, a diesel-electric bus. This drive combination is particularly low-noise, accelerates completely without jolt and thus delivers a comfortable driving experience to the passengers.
Fuel-cell bus
Von Oktober 2000 bis Mitte 2001 wurde im Rahmen eines Pilotprojekts ein From october 2001 to mid-2001 a fuel-cell bus (hydrogen drive) was tested in the course of a pilot project. With this drive system the vehicle runs practically without emissions, very silently and vibration-free.
"Ultracup" bus
Furthermore we have been the first German transportation company to test an "ultracup" bus between November 2001 and May 2002. Here the braking energy of the vehicle is stored in super-capacitors and re-used as drive energy when the bus gathers speed again. After some time the diesel engine takes over. Here again the electric drive guarantees an almost jolt-free driving-comfort. Based on the positive experiences we`ll be testing a new "ultracup" bus with further advanced technology in 2005.
EURO-5-engine
Since January 2005 for the first time in Germany we have put into scheduled (regular) service a vehicle with EURO-5-diesel-engine in Erlangen - in the course of a joint venture with MAN, TÜV Süddeutschland (the technical inspection autority of southern Germany) and Wibera Wirtschaftsberatung (economic consulting) AG. This project is being supported by the bavarian State Ministry of Environmental Issues, Health and Consumer Protection. Since July 2005 another vehicle with EURO-5-diesel-engine (EEV) has been operating in scheduled service in Nuremberg. These EEV-busses (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle) are equipped with SCR-technology (Selective Catalytic Reduction) as catalytic converter and will be tested within a two-year period. This technology represents an extremly efficient after-treatment of exhaust gases, resulting in a distinct reduction of toxic emissions. By injecting a solution of urea nitrogen, AdBlue, into the exhaust gases, a chemical reaction produces ammonia which in turn converts detrimental nitrogen oxides into atmospheric nitrogen and water.
The three vehicles equipped with EURO-5-engines are even now compliant with the standard wich will be introduced as mandatory for new vehicles from Octobre 2008.