Karte der Stadtbahn Stuttgart und des O-Bus Esslingen

Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB) is the principal public transport operating company in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

city of

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. The SSB is a member of the

Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart The ''Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart GmbH'' (VVS; ) is a List of German transport associations, transport association that coordinates the local public transport in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, as well as in the neighbouri ...

(VVS), and operates the

Stuttgart Stadtbahn The Stuttgart Stadtbahn is a semi-metro system in Stuttgart, Germany. The Stadtbahn began service on 28 September 1985. It is operated by the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB), which also operates the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG#Bus system ...

bus lines A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used in ...

, a

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

, and a

funicular railway A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ends ...

Colour

Since the coat of arms of Stuttgart shows a ''black'', rampant horse on a ''yellow'' or golden field, the Stuttgart Stadtbahn as well as all the buses come in yellow with black window frames.

Stuttgart Stadtbahn

The Stadtbahn, a (light rail system), covers 17 lines. The system is operated with 164 cars, operates on

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

track, and is electrified at 750

volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, Voltage#Galvani potential vs. electrochemical potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units, International System of Uni ...

s DC.

Tram system used until December 2007

The last remaining tram line (15) ceased to operate on 8 December 2007 and was replaced by the Stadtbahn line U15 on the same day. The old tram system was operated by 38 cars of type GT4. Unlike the city's light rail system, the tram system operated on track. The conversion of tram lines to light rail lines was thus a complex procedure, and necessitates

dual gauge Dual gauge railroad track has three or four rails, allowing vehicles of two track gauges to run on it. Signalling and sidings are more expensive to install on dual gauge tracks than on two single gauge tracks. Dual gauge is used when there i ...

track where both systems operated over the same track. There are also two heritage tram lines, which are operated on the second Sunday of each month and on the last Saturday of each month by the

Stuttgarter Historische Straßenbahnen Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

society with trams from the Tram Museum of Stuttgart. stuttgart gt4.jpg, Tram line 15 in the Haußmannstraße. The model GT4 was operated from 1959 to 2007. GT4Ruhbank P1040497.jpg, Two trams of model GT4 in the terminal loop “Ruhbank” at the Fernsehturm.

Bus system

The bus network of the SSB covers Stuttgart and many neighbouring cities, with 54 different routes. Bus routes are operated by both SSB itself, and by other operators under contract to SSB. SSB's own bus fleet consists of approximately 250 vehicles, of which about 160 are

articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a slinky bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, is an articulated vehicle, typically a motor bus or trolleybus, used in public transportation. It is usually a ...

es. The buses are predominantly of

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

manufacture, although there are 36 made by

MAN A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

in the years 2001 and 2002. The bus fleet is operated from depots and yards at Gaisburg, Möhringen,

Sielmingen Sielmingen is a former municipality in the Esslingen district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was first recorded in year 1275 as ''Sygehelmingen''. In 1975 it was merged with the municipalities Bernhausen, Bonlanden, Plattenhardt and Har ...

, and

Zuffenhausen Zuffenhausen is one of three northernmost boroughs of the city of Stuttgart, capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The borough is primarily an incorporation of the formerly independent townships Zuffenhausen, Zazenhausen, Neuwirtshaus ...

Other modes

Besides the light rail and bus networks, the SSB operates two more unusual forms of transport: *The

Stuttgart Rack Railway The Stuttgart Rack Railway () is an electric rack railway in Stuttgart, Germany, known affectionately as the ''Zacke'' (''spike'') or ''Zacketse'' by the local residents. The line opened on 23 August 1884 and links Marienplatz in the city centre ...

connects the urban districts of Stuttgart South (Marienplatz) and Degerloch (Albplatz). This line operates as SSB route 10, and connects light rail lines U1 and U14 at Marienplatz with lines U5, U6 and U8 at Albplatz. *The

Standseilbahn Stuttgart The Standseilbahn Stuttgart or Stuttgart Cable Car is a funicular railway in the city of Stuttgart, Germany. The line links the Südheimer Platz valley station with the Stuttgart Degerloch forest cemetery in the south quarters of Heslach. Oper ...

, a

, links Südheimer Platz with the Degerloch forest cemetery. This line, which operates as SSB route 20, connects with light rail lines U1 and U14 at Südheimer Platz.

Fares and ticketing

The SSB is part of the regional transport cooperative, the

(VVS), which coordinates tickets and fares among all transport operators in the metropolitan area. Besides the SSB's Stadtbahn, tram and bus networks, this coordination includes the

Stuttgart S-Bahn The Stuttgart S-Bahn is a suburban railway system (S-Bahn) serving the Stuttgart Region, an urban agglomeration of around 2.7 million people, consisting of the city of Stuttgart and the adjacent districts of Esslingen, Böblingen, Ludwigsb ...

, operated by a subsidiary of

Deutsche Bahn AG (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

(DBAG), and DBAG's

RegionalBahn The ''Regionalbahn'' (; lit. Regional train; abbreviated ''RB'') is a train categories in Europe, type of Regional rail, local passenger train (stopping train) in Germany. It is similar to the Regionalzug (R) and Regio (Swiss railway train), R ...

regional train services within the VVS area.

References

External links

Official web site of the SSB

Official web site of the VVS (comprehensive version in German)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuttgarter Strassenbahnen Transport in Stuttgart Companies based in Stuttgart