Hamburg Bus

The Hamburg buses serve 100 lines and driving 120000KM Daily. The Hamburger Verkehrsverbund (HVV) (English: "Hamburg Transport Association") is the operator of the buses in Hamburg, Germany .

The bus system is operated by multiple private companies just like London Bus. 

The system has four types of buses which are

1. 1. 1. MetroBus with 22 lines which run frequently and provide direct connections with the city centre as well as the Hamburg districts. Metro buses are marked with the M letter and the numbers from 1 to 27.

      2. SchnellBus (buses with limited stops) refers to bus lines connecting residential districts and the inner city. These buses are marked with numbers from 31 to 39.

      3. City and regional buses take passengers to the stations of rapid transit and regional trains, to the centres of districts and regional counties. These buses can be recognized by the three-digit numbers and sometimes by the four-digit numbers.

      4. NachtBus (night bus lines) has 19 lines which operate during the night hours. These buses can be recognized by the three-digit numbers from 600 to 688. The departure point of these buses which will take you to almost every district in the town is the bus stop at Rathausmarkt.

      5. Eilbus sprinter services provide a fast connection from the city outskirts to the nearest U-Bahn or S-Bahn station. These vehicles are marked with the E letter and a two-digit number.

Here are the different types of ticket types

1. Single tickets which can be used for one-way trips or short-distance trips

2. Daily tickets are convenient for those who plan to use the public transport more times during the day, in all directions. Daily tickets are valid all day (from 6 am) until 6 am the following morning. There is a cheaper version of daily ticket called the 9 am day ticket valid from 9 am till 6 am the next morning.

3. Group tickets for up to five poeple; group tickets also include the cheaper 9am variant.

4. Week tickets are good for those who plan to use the public transport on a regular bases during a period of seven days. These tickets can be purchased at a HVV service centre; these tickets cannot be transferred and therefore to buy one you need a passport photo. HVV service centres can be found at Hamburg Central Station and at Terminal 2 of Hamburg Airport. You can purchase them in the HVV online shop or using their app.

5. Hamburg Card is a great option for those who want to see the city and visit its museums, theatres, join sightseeing and walking tours together with an unlimited use of the public transport at very low prices. Hamburg Card is available in single and group variant.

6. Happy Weekend Ticket is valid on Saturday and Sunday for unlimited number of rides including Deutsche Bahn rail services as well. Up to five people can travel with this ticket

1. Cycles and Bikes are allowed but not on rush hours.

2. On frequented routes within the city, buses and trains run every 5 or 10 minutes. If it is a regional bus or train, they run every 20, 40 or even 60 minutes.

These days there are a lot of national bus lines connecting Hamburg with other German cities unlike the previous years when the trains were the main transport means. There are many German bus companies providing long distance bus trips at very low prices; thus you can find bus lines to Cologne, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Munich, Hannover, Bremen and more but the line between Hamburg and Berlin has most departures, 30 a day. 

Besides the national connections, Hamburg has also many international bus connections. There are daily departures  (one or more) towards Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Zurich, Basel, Milan, Rome, Prague, Budapest and more. There are also departures towards certain destinations in south-eastern Europe but they are much less frequent than to the above mentioned destinations.