Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL) (Lucerne Transit Agency) is the main provider of

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, typi ...

in the Swiss city of Lucerne. It operates some 92

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 ...

es and 74

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 trol ...

es on 25 daytime routes, as well as 5 overnight services (known as ''Nachstern'') and one

funicular 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 e ...

service.

History

VBL dates back to December 1899, when a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

way was opened in the city, which at the time had a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of around 30,000. This tramway was completed in 1903, when it reached 11.3 km in length. Over the period 1909–1936, the tramway was extended to the Emmenbrücke and

Kriens Kriens is a city and a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. The municipality lies at the foot of the mountain Pilatus, and is a western suburb of Lucerne. History In the oldest documents of the Benedic ...

areas. The late 1920s and early 1930s saw the first bus services being introduced to the city. Initial proposals for a

system in 1938 were rejected by the citizens of Lucerne, however further proposals in 1941 were met with a far more positive response, and the first line was opened between Lucerne station and Allmend. Trolleybuses gradually replaced

s in the city, and the tramway was finally closed in 1961. The Lucerne trolleybus system was upgraded in 1965/66 with the introduction of 14 new

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were sometim ...

trolleybuses. The 1970s revolutionised the way tickets were bought on the bus and trolleybus networks, with most now being purchased from roadside

vending machines A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...

. In the 1980s several

motorbus 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 were converted to trolleybuses. The fleet was upgraded in 1985 with the purchase of 54 new vehicles. A new fare system was introduced in 1991, with the network being divided into various zones. In the same year, VBL took delivery of 4 new articulated trolleybuses and 6 articulated motorbuses. The start of the 21st century brought with it a large intake of new vehicles, with both motorbuses and trolleybuses being delivered. VBL now boasts a very modern fleet, with the

Mercedes-Benz Citaro The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/ EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asia ...

comprising a large portion of the bus fleet.

Routes

Trolleybus routes

*1 Obernau -

- Luzern Bahnhof (Lucerne railway station) - Maihof - Ebikon Fildern *2 Emmenbrücke Sprengi - Emmenbrücke Central - Luzern Bahnhof *4 Hubelmatt - Luzern Bahnhof *5 Kriens Busschleife - Pilatusplatz - Emmenbrücke Bahnhof Süd *6 Matthof - Bundesplatz - Luzern Bahnhof - Luzernerhof - Brüelstrasse - Büttenenhalde *7 Biregghof - Bundesplatz - Luzern Bahnhof - Luzernerhof - Zwyssigplatz - Unterlöchli *8 Hirtenhof - Bundesplatz - Luzern Bahnhof - Luzernerhof - Brüelstrasse - Würzenbach

Bus routes

*9 Bramberg - Luzern Bahnhof *10 Obergütsch - Luzern Bahnhof *11 Dattenberg - Eichhof - Luzern Bahnhof *12

Littau Littau is a former municipality, and now part of the city of Lucerne, in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipality of Littau merged into the municipality of Lucerne. History Littau is fi ...

Gasshof - Luzern Bahnhof *14 Brüelstrasse - St. Anna - Luzern Bahnhof - Pilatusplatz - Eichhof - Grosshofstrasse - Nidfeld - Grabenhof - Pilatusmarkt - Horw Zentrum *15

- Zumhof/Senti/Bachstrasse/Bergstrasse/Sidhalde - Kriens *16 Kriens - Mattenhof - Kuonimatt - Pilatusmarkt -

Horw Horw (; Swiss German: ''Horb'') is a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. History Horw is first mentioned in 1231 as ''Horwe''. Geography Horw has an area of . Of this area, 32.6% is used for agric ...

Zentrum - Spitz *19 Friedental - Kantonsspittal - Scholssberg - Luzern Bahnhof *20 Ennethorw/Technikumstrasse - Horw Zentrum - Wegscheide]- Luzern Bahnhof *21 Kriens - Mattenhof - Pilatusmarkt - Horw Steinbach - Wegscheide - Kastanienbaum - St. Niklausen - Luzern Bahnhof *22 Gisikon - Perlen -

Buchrain Buchrain is a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. History Buchrain is first mentioned in 1257 as ''Buochren''. Geography Buchrain has an area of . Of this area, 49.5% is used for agricultural pur ...

Ebikon Ebikon is a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. History Ebikon was first mentioned during the late 9th Century as ''marcha Abinchova''. Geography Ebikon has an area of . Of this area, 38.4% is us ...

- Luzern Bahnhof *23 Gisikon Weitblick -

Root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...

- Dierekon - Ebikon - Luzern Bahnhof *24

Meggen Meggen is a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. History Meggen is first mentioned in 1226 as ''Meken'', though a 14th Century copy of an older document mentions ''in Acta Murensia'' around 1160. Geogr ...

Tschädigen - Lerchenbühl - Luzern Bahnhof *25 Meggen Gottlieben - Meggen Piuskirche - Brüelstrasse *26 Ottigenbühl - Ebikon Hofmatt - Unterlöchli - Adligenswil - Brüelstrasse *30 Littau Bahnhof - Ebikon Bahnhof *N1 Obernau - Kriens - Grosshofstrasse - Eichhof - Luzern Bahnhof - Maihof - Gisikon Weitblick *N2 Luzern Bahnhof - Emmenbrücke *N3 Luzern Bahnhof - Küssnacht - Vitznau *N4 Luzern Bahnhof - Hergiswil - Stans *N5 Luzern Bahnhof - Sarnen - Lungern *N6 Luzern Bahnhof - Wolhusen - Menznau *N9 Luzern Bahnhof - Inwil - Hochdorf - Ermensee *N12 Luzern Bahnhof - Littau Gasshof *N21 Luzern Bahnhof - Kastanienbaum - Horw

Funicular

The VBL operates the recently reopened Gütschbahn funicular.

Rolling stock

The bus fleet has been modernised over the past few years, with the introduction of both rigid and

vehicles, which have been placed into service at various points since 1998.

Motor buses

The current

motor 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 ...

fleet is as follows: * 38 Mercedes-Benz Citaro (1998–2006) * 31 Mercedes-Benz Citaro articulated (2002–2006) * 3

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

(1996) * 4 Mercedes-Benz O405N2 (1995–1997) * 2 Mercedes-Benz O405N (1993) * 2

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

Hess Hess or Heß may refer to: * Hess (surname), also ''Heß'' in German, people with the surname Hess * Hess, Oklahoma, a community in the United States * Hess Educational Organization, the largest private provider of English instruction in the Rep ...

N94UB (2005) * 2

Volvo B10L The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

(1996) * 1 Mercedes-Benz 416CDI (2002) * 1 Neoplan N4009 (1994) * 1 Neoplan N4411 (2001)

Trolleybuses

The

fleet has also been modernised in recent years, including the arrival of the company's first bi-articulated trolleybuses in 2006. The non-articulated trolleybuses haul

trailers Trailer may refer to: a Transportation * Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle ** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers ** Full-trailer ** Semi-trailer **Horse trail ...

(see next section) on some routes. The current trolleybus fleet is as follows: * 29 NAW/

/ Siemens BG5-25 (1988–1989) * 19 NAW/Hess/Siemens BG5-25 articulated (1987–1991) * 9 Hess/

Vossloh Kiepe Kiepe Electric GmbH (formerly Vossloh Kiepe) is a German manufacturer of electrical traction equipment for trams, trolleybuses other road and rail transport vehicles, as well as air-conditioning and heating systems, and conveyor device components. ...

BGT-N2C articulated (2004–2006) * 3 Hess/Vossloh-Kiepe BGGT-N2C lighTram 3 double-articulated (2006)

Trailers

* 16 Lanz & Marti/Hess APM 5.6-13

(1998–2005)

Livery

VBL buses and trolleybuses are now painted in a livery which is mainly white, with blue finish. Previously, the livery was the reverse of this, being mainly blue.

References

External links

Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern
{{Authority control Bus companies of Switzerland Public transport in Switzerland Defunct railway companies of Switzerland Defunct town tramway systems by city