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 (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

city of

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 Sw ...

. The SSB is a member of the Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart (VVS), and operates the Stuttgart Stadtbahn, bus lines, 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 t ...

, and a funicular railway.

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 and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

track, and is electrified at 750

volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). Defin ...

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 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 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 banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is u ...

es. The buses are predominantly of

Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

manufacture, although there are 36 made by MAN 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 Plat ...

, and Zuffenhausen.

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 (German: ''Zahnradbahn Stuttgart'') is an electric rack railway in Stuttgart, Germany. It is the only urban rack railway in Germany, and one of only four rack railways operating in Germany, along with the Bavarian ...

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 funicular railway, 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 Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart (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, operated by a subsidiary of

Deutsche Bahn AG The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the ...

(DBAG), and DBAG's RegionalBahn 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