Qbuzz is a public transport company in the Netherlands that operates services in South Holland,

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

, Drenthe and Groningen. Founded in 2008, it was a 100% subsidiary of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (the Dutch National Railway Operator) between 2013 and 2017. It is currently owned by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (the Italian National Railway Operator).

History

Qbuzz was founded in 2008 by former Connexxion directors Rob van Holten and Leon Struijk.Connexxion, Arriva and Qbuzz
'' NRC Handelsblad'' 2 September 2011 (Dutch) Having initially had a 49% shareholding,

Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and t ...

purchased the remaining 51% in April 2013. In March 2015, Qbuzz was awarded a 15-year concession to operate services in the

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

region from December 2016. However, after the discovery of irregularities during the tender process, the contract was awarded to

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Busitalia Sita Nord (subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane) purchased the company.

Operations

In December 2008, Qbuzz started operating bus services in

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

and

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

. Upon being re-tendered, the Friesland services passed to Arriva in December 2016.Qbuzz loses ground in the north
RTV Drenthe 11 August 2016 (Dutch) In December 2009, Qbuzz won the concession to operate bus services in Groningen and Drenthe until December 2019. In December 2011, Qbuzz began operating the bus and sneltram services in

trading as U-OV until December 2023. In January 2018 Qbuzz was selected by the province of South Holland as preferred bidder for a contract which combines the operation of MerwedeLingelijn train service on the Geldermalsen –

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

route with the provision of local bus services. On 9 December 2018, Qbuzz officially took over services from Arriva on the MerwedeLingeLijn.

Fleet

As at March 2016, Qbuzz operated 686 buses and 27 trams.Abellio facts & figures
Abellio 29 March 2016

References

External links

{{Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, state=collapsed Amersfoort Bus companies of the Netherlands Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Nederlandse Spoorwegen Companies based in Utrecht (province) Railway companies of the Netherlands Transport companies established in 2008 2008 establishments in the Netherlands