The Association of German Transport Companies is the umbrella organization of organizations of transit authorities and other

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

companies. The membership fluctuates in the range of about 600 transport companies. It is a member of the

International Association of Public Transport The International Association of Public Transport (UITP, from the french: L’Union internationale des transports publics) is a non-profit advocacy organization for public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, scientific in ...

. The current organization (VdV) was founded in 1991 with its headquarters in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. The predecessor is the (VöV) (Association of

erman Erman Rašiti may refer to: Given name * Erman Bulucu (born 1989), Turkish footballer * Erman Eltemur (born 1993), Turkish karateka * Erman Güraçar (born 1974), Turkish footballer * Erman Kılıç (born 1983), Turkish footballer * Erman Kunter (b ...

Public Transport Companies) that was founded in 1949 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

with main office in

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

until 1959 when it moved to Cologne. There is a predecessor for the VöV as well deriving from umbrella railway organizations in the early 19th century that were forming a subsidiary of (Association of German Tram and Light Railway Authorities) in 1895 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. With a broadened scope of non-railway transportation it changed its name to (Association of German Transport Authorities) in 1928 with the main office in Berlin. With the Nazi

Gleichschaltung The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...

its functions were integrated into the

Reich Ministry of Transport The Reich Ministry of Transport (german: Reichsverkehrsministerium or ''RVM'') was a cabinet-level agency of the German government from 1919 until 1945, operating during the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Formed from the Prussian Ministry of Pub ...

''()'' requiring a new start after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The association is not only an

interest group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

but it serves as a

standards organization A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO) is an organization whose primary function is developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpr ...

within Germany. Its first project in post-war times was to settle on a tramway model that could quickly replace the demolished vehicle fleet throughout.

Duewag Düwag or Duewag, formerly Waggonfabrik Uerdingen, was a German manufacturer of rail vehicles. It was sold in 1999 to Siemens with the brand later retired. History Duewag was founded in March 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen in Uerdingen an ...

was contracted to refurbish various tram chassis with a standard body () in the range of 355 motor cars and 248 trailer cars from 1948 to 1950. The next generation tram type was named (association car

ype Peace River Airport is a municipally owned airport located west of the Town of Peace River, Alberta, Canada. The airport has one runway, which is , and a terminal building, which is . Northern Air is based at the airport and provides scheduled ...

with 206 motor cars and 326 trailer cars produced from 1951 to 1958. During the 1960s bus transport seemed to be more feasible than tram transport so that the association mandated the design of a new standard city bus () with multiple generations produced by various manufacturers from 1968 to the mid of the 1980s. Starting in the mid-1980s a new series of buses () is recommended. A modern field of standardization is the e-ticketing with a (VdV core application) that partner companies can use to provide new ticketing solutions.

References

*https://www.vdv.de/english.aspx - English landing page of the association {{Authority control Public transport in Germany Transport associations in Germany 1991 establishments in Germany