The ''Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart GmbH'' (VVS; en, Stuttgart Transport and Tariff Association LLC) is a
transport association
A transit district or transit authority is a government agency or a public-benefit corporation created for the purpose of providing public transportation within a specific region.
A transit district may operate bus, rail or other types of tr ...
that coordinates the local public transport 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 ...
, the capital of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, as well as in the neighbouring districts of
Böblingen
Böblingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Beblenga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous.
History
Böblingen was found ...
,
Esslingen,
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is ...
and
Rems-Murr
Rems-Murr is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Heilbronn, Schwäbisch Hall, Ostalbkreis, Göppingen, Esslingen, the district-free city Stuttgart and the distr ...
, and parts of
Göppingen
Göppingen ( Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the b ...
and
Ostalbkreis
The Ostalbkreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the border to Bavaria. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Schwäbisch Hall, Ansbach, Donau-Ries, Heidenheim, Göppingen and Rems-Murr. ...
. The network ensures uniform conditions of carriage and fare regulations as well as a coordinated timetable. It cooperates with the administrative districts and municipalities as well as the
Verband Region Stuttgart
Stuttgart Region (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) is an urban agglomeration at the heart of the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region. It consists of the city of Stuttgart and the surrounding districts of Ludwigsburg, Esslingen, Böblingen, Rems-Murr and ...
.
History
The ''VVS-Gemeinschaftsstarif'' was introduced on 1 October 1978 when the ''Stuttgarter Vorortverkehr'' was replaced by the
S-Bahn Stuttgart
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, Ludwig ...
. Initially, it was a tariff community between
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained ...
s (
express train
An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than Local train, local trains that stop at most or all of the s ...
s,
local train
Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster servi ...
s, S-Bahn and
train buses), the
german post and almost all means of transport of
Stuttgart trams (SSB). At the same time, SSB gave up its own fare; only on the airport bus route A, which was operated until 1993, did SSB's own fare apply until the end. Outside the SSB network at that time, the following railway lines were integrated at the beginning:
*
Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt-Schorndorf
*
Waiblingen-Backnang
*
Backnang-Ludwigsburg
*
Ludwigsburg-Bietigheim-Bissingen
*
Stuttgart Hbf-Böblingen
On 1 July 1982 the ''VVS-transitional tariff'' was introduced. This enabled passengers to use not only DB and SSB services, but also the buses and trains of around 40 private transport companies with a monthly ticket.
On October 1, 1993, the transitional tariff was abolished and the community tariff was extended to the entire area of the four districts surrounding Stuttgart. From then on, regional trains could no longer be used with composite tickets only up to the end point of the S-Bahn, but beyond that to the last station before the district border.
On January 1, 2014, the
Filstalbahn in the
District Göppingen to the
Geislingen station as well as the
railway line Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt-Aalen to the
Lorch station in the
Ostalbkreis
The Ostalbkreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the border to Bavaria. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Schwäbisch Hall, Ansbach, Donau-Ries, Heidenheim, Göppingen and Rems-Murr. ...
were integrated into the VVS tariff.
On 1 January 2016, the cities of
Nagold
Nagold is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the Northern Black Forest. It is located in the ''Landkreis'' (district) of Calw (Germany/Baden-Württemberg). Nagold is known for its ruined castle, Hohennagold Castle, and for its road viad ...
and
Altensteig
Altensteig (; Swabian: ''Aldaschdaeg'') is a town in the district of Calw, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
Altensteig was most likely given town rights by the Counts of Hohenberg around the middle of the 14th century. In 1398, the to ...
in the
Calw district
Calw is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Karlsruhe, Enz, the district-free city Pforzheim, Böblingen, Freudenstadt and Rastatt.
History
The district w ...
were also integrated into the VVS tariff.
On 1 January 2020, the
Ergenzingen railway station was integrated into the VVS tariff.
Key figures
The VVS traffic area covers 3012 square kilometres with a population of around 2.4 million. In this area, 17
regional train
Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster servi ...
lines, seven
S-Bahn lines, 19
Stadtbahnlinien operate (including two special lines that only run to special events), the
Zahnradbahn Stuttgart, the
Standseilbahn Stuttgart as well as 359
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
lines, three
trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
lines (see
trolleybus Esslingen am Neckar) and 28
night bus lines.
The VVS operates 146 S-Bahn railway cars, 164 light rail vehicles, 26 diesel railcars, nine trolleybuses, three rack railcars, two funicular railcars and about 1300 buses.
Tariff
There is a uniform tariff for the entire area of the Stuttgart transport association. The system comprises one
tariff zone for the city of Stuttgart (zone 1) and seven further tariff zones (zones 2 to 8), which are arranged in a ring around the Stuttgart city area.
The tariff reform in April 2019 replaced the 52 old tariff zones - most of which have existed since 1978 - with eight new tariff zones. Among other things, the former core zone 10 was merged with the ring zone 20; since then, the entire Stuttgart city area has been in one zone. Likewise, the outermost ring zones 60 to 69 and 70 to 75 as well as 77 and 78 were merged into the new ring zone 5. As the prices for the zones remained constant, some journeys in the tariff association became cheaper. The cost of the tariff reform 2019 was estimated at about 42 million euros per year. In April 2019, the number of trips increased by 4.1 percent year-on-year, the number of subscribers by 6.8 percent. In the previous months, the increase was between 1.0 and 1.3 percent.
Tickets
VVS tickets are valid in Stuttgart and the districts of Böblingen, Esslingen, Ludwigsburg and Rems-Murr for all suburban trains, local trains (RB, RE, IRE), light rail, buses (except line X3), the rack railway and the cable car. In inbound and outbound traffic, the VVS tariff also applies in individual neighbouring towns such as
Beilstein or
Lorch. In the district of Göppingen, the VVS tariff has been applied since 2014 for journeys by local trains from or to the VVS area. The use of buses in the district of Göppingen is possible with individual or group day tickets of the VVS in the price level network, but not with VVS single tickets. The complete integration of the existing
Filsland network into the VVS is scheduled for 1 January 2021.
Regular single tickets, 4-trip tickets, short-haul tickets, individual and group day tickets as well as different variants of monthly and annual tickets can be purchased. Single tickets and 4-trip tickets for children from 6 to 14 years of age cost about half the normal price, they can also be used to take a dog with you or as a supplement for 1st class.
Single tickets are valid for a maximum of three hours for a journey to the destination, changing trains and interruptions are permitted. The short-distance ticket is valid on suburban trains and local trains for a journey to the next stop, whereby the distance travelled may not exceed five kilometres, on light railways and buses to the third stop after boarding without changing trains or interrupting the journey.
In several cities there are reduced price day tickets that can only be used in the respective city area.
Ticket vending machines can be found at all S-Bahn, light rail and local train stops, and in the SSB area also at bus stops with higher traffic volumes. Payment with the bus driver is mostly only possible with cash, only on the lines of the
SVE in
Esslingen and of
LVL Jäger in
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is ...
. The possibility of (contactless) payment by
girocard
girocard is an interbank network and debit card service connecting virtually all German ATMs and banks. It is based on standards and agreements developed by the German Banking Industry Committee.
German girocards are usually co-branded with Mast ...
is offered since 2018. With ''VVS Mobil'', the transport association provides its own
App for smartphones, which, in addition to timetable information, also enables the purchase of
Mobile phone tickets. VVS tickets can also be purchased via the apps ''SSB Move'', ''Moovel'' and the ''DB Navigator''. The mobile phone tickets are partly discounted compared to buying them from a ticket machine or the bus driver.
Tickets for 4 persons must be validated before departure. In the case of S-Bahn and local trains, the
validators are located on the platform or at the entrances, in the case of light rail and buses, they are in the vehicle. All other tickets purchased from ticket machines or from the bus driver are valid immediately without validation.
Transport companies in the VVS
The transport services are provided by about 40 companies. On some bus lines, subcontractors not listed here also operate, unless they also operate their own lines in the VVS.
Line system in the VVS
1 The VVS tariff applies only to journeys to or from the VVS area by the respective means of transport.
2 The Stuttgart trams have given up their bus routes, which run completely outside the Stuttgart city area, until 31 December 2018. These lines will therefore be renumbered from the two-digit SSB scheme to the three-digit district scheme, which has not yet been completely implemented.
The 300 range denotes lines in the former
District Backnang, line numbers in the 600 range denote the no longer existing
District Leonberg.
References
External links
Official web site of the VVS (comprehensive version in German)Official web site of the VVS (subset in English)Network map of the area covered by VVS tariffs*
{{Authority control
Transport associations in Baden Württemberg
Companies based in Stuttgart
Transport in Stuttgart
1977 establishments in West Germany
Transport companies established in 1977
German companies established in 1977