Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich

The Zurich Public Transport ( VBZ) is the municipal transport company of the Swiss city of Zurich and are part of the Department of Industrial Enterprises ( DIB), a subunit of the city administration. Founded in 1896 as Urban Tram Zurich ( StStZ ), VBZ now operate the majority of public transport in the city, some lines in the region and are one of eight market- responsible companies ( MVU ), founded in 1990 Zurich Transport Network ( CRVO ). The company owns the 15 lines of the tramway Zurich, the cable car Rigiblick, the six lines of the trolleybus Zurich and the urban bus service with 16 main lines, eleven district lines and 27 regional lines outside the city of Zurich. In addition, the VBZ are entrusted with the operation of three private railways. These are the Polybahn ( a funicular railway owned by the UBS), the Dolderbahn ( a rack railway since 1973) and the narrow gauge Forchbahn.

• 3.1 tram
• 3.2 trolleybus
• 3.3 bus

History

Mid- 1896, the Zurich City municipal operating Urban Tram Zurich ( StStZ ) after they had acquired the private company founded until 1894 Electric Tram Zurich ( ESTZ ). Beginning of 1897 was also the private Zurich Tram Company ( spool valves ), which ran the standard gauge Rösslitram since September 1882 adopted by the City and incorporated into the StStZ. In the following years the StStZ took over all the other parallel emerging private tram companies:

1927 reversed the first municipal bus line, the bus mode initially belonged to the legally independent company cars operating the Municipal Tram Zurich. This was renamed in 1935 in Autobusbetrieb the Municipal Tram Zurich. From 1939 the first trolley buses were used, they were initially organizationally also for bus operation. It was only in March 1949, all three operating units were merged, it emerged the transport companies of the city of Zurich. In 1978, finally renamed into todays valid botanical shorthand Zurich transport services and the introduction of the marketing name VBZ Zuri- line.

On 20 May 2011 the union VPOD ran a strike action against the VBZ. It was about break regulations and shift times. In the newspaper 20minutes a listing with the conditions of employment VBZ had appeared as a self-promotion VBZ in the run-up on May 10. However, the working conditions were not part of the dispute; it was about the increased burden and short breaks. Due to the housing shortage in Zurich employees live further and further away, so that the real rest hardly match the rest of a shift schedule.

Network

Tram

Trolleybus

Bus

According to a line number concept from the 1950s, the number range is 61-99 the buses reserved for the urban routes have mainly lower numbers, the compounds in the outlying districts usually higher. However, the generously dimensioned number range for trolley bus lines ( 31-60 ) over the years has also been used for bus routes. Majority outside the city limits bus services have since inception of the Zurich Transport Network in May 1990 three-digit region Albus numbers, based on the old " urban " numbers, where the number of each region was preceded by.

Basically no different VBZ between modes of Pneulinien; Signatures, line schedules, stops notices and announcements are uniform and do not allow conclusions as to whether there is a trolley bus or a bus line. Internally, in particular a technical distinction, due to infrastructure, road network, vessel size, development function, operating times and clock interval, transitions may be blurred.

The city bus network consists of the fifteen lines 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 69, 70, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 89, 94, 95 with a line length of 75.4 kilometers. The usual vessel sizes are 18 meters long articulated buses and twelve meters long standard buses and is particularly and switched to the off-peak times to smaller units. The character of the lines differs partly strong, in addition to the actual main lines (61, 62, 63, 67, 75, 80), which run all day in the usual urban heartbeat interval, other lines are based on hours of work and shop opening times (54, 76, 89, 94), or lecture times ( 69 ), with significantly different timing intervals are used. Extreme changes through the lines 66 and 78 which operate as Quartierbus evenings and Sundays, the latter parts of the route of the line 35 takes over. Another special case is line 95, which runs only on weekdays during rush hours.

The district bus is a real complement network, which handles the extremely fine and nine lines (29, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 64, 73, 79) with an added line length of 27.6 kilometers. Usual vessel sizes are ten meters long midi buses and so-called Quartier buses in the size of a pickup truck, often caused by narrow neighborhood streets in Tempo 30 zones, as well as scarce Turning points at the end points. It is characterized by the opening up of cemeteries, Age settlements and nursing homes, as well as also also isolated residential areas, particularly on slopes without major route. The operating times of these buses are usually limited, Breakfast services on weekends are uncommon and the usual clock intervals are 30 minutes, 20 minutes or 15 minutes.

The regional bus network in the immediate conurbations Zurich under stood until 1990 completely managing the VBZ, partly due to its own line concessions, otherwise on behalf of the Canton of Zurich. Meanwhile, it consists only of the two sharp decline in market areas agglomeration East (upper Glatt valley, lower Pfannenstiel ) and West ( Limmat, lower Zimmerberg ), which are managed by the VBZ. Like all regional buses in the area of the Zurich Transport Network have these lines since May 1990 three-digit numbers that were originally based on the scores awarded by VBZ two-digit numbers.

In contrast to the city network that is completely powered by the VBZ VBZ working at the Regional network for decades with subcontractors together. For the self- operation of regional lines and the garages Hardau Hagenholz / Sun Valley each have a group of buses, which is equipped with POS systems and validators, as the neighboring communities do not like wildfire via ticket machines at the stops.

In the nights from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday run after closing from Zurich 14 night bus lines at 30- minute intervals, some of which also serve neighboring communities.

Rolling stock

Tram

Trolleybus

Bus

• Mercedes -Benz O 405601-690 ( 1987-1989) retired,
• Mercedes -Benz O 405 N 201-242 (1990 ), retired in December 2009
• Mercedes -Benz O 405 G 568-593 ( 1988-1990), articulated, phasing out continuously (reserve stock)
• Mercedes -Benz O 405 GN 501-515 (1992 ), articulated, in early 2009 retired
• Neoplan N 4516 243 (2003), demonstration vehicle retired,
• Neoplan N 4516 244-263 (2003)
• Neoplan N 4516 264-283 (2004)
• Neoplan N 4522 516-525 (2004), articulated
• Neoplan N 4522 526-540 (2005), articulated
• Neoplan N 4522 541-562 (2006), articulated
• Mercedes -Benz O 530601-614 " Citaro " (2008)
• Mercedes -Benz O 530615-619 " Citaro " (2009)
• Mercedes -Benz O 530 G 401-410 " Citaro " (2008), articulated
• Mercedes -Benz O 530 G 411-424 " Citaro " (2009), articulated

A replacement for the standing still in use O 405 N and O 405 GN was mid-2007 publicly advertised by the GATT / WTO. The offer of EvoBus ( Switzerland ) AG met the specifications provided by the most economical bid and was awarded in January 2008, the supply contract for a total of 34 cars of the Mercedes -Benz Citaro ( O 530 ) worth almost 19 million Swiss francs. Delivered the vehicles in two lots; from October 2008 14 O 530 ( 12-meter standard buses ) and ten O 530 G ( 18- meter articulated buses), in a second lot in 2009 for another ten O 530 G. There is also an option for a maximum of 25 additional vehicles in a freely selectable number and length; from this now five more standard buses and four articulated buses were ordered, which also came in 2009 for delivery.

• Renault Master ( T35 ) 331-350 ( 1989-1991), retired
• Fiat Ducato ( 2.8 JTD ) 314-321 (2002)
• Mercedes -Benz Sprinter (616 CDI) 322-323 (2006)
• Neoplan N 4009 301-309 (1998-1999), Midibus
• MAN A35 310-313 " Lion's City M " (2006), Midibus

On the occasion of the UEFA Euro 2008, the first time VBZ redesigned trolley buses to special vehicles. In particular, a AMAG Euro 2008 bus and UEFA Euro 2008 host city bus were created.

The buses are two bus garages Hagenholz and Hardau and housed in Busstützpunkt Sun Valley in Dübendorf, the latter is the only VBZ depot facility outside the city. The heavy maintenance of the rail and Pneufahrzeuge carried out by the central workshop Altstetten.

Coloring

The colors of the Zurich transport services are white and blue, derived from the coat of arms of the city. The original shade of blue, standardized according to NCS S 1995 - R96B 4637 has also been adopted by the Munich Transport Company.

Central workshop

The 1975 related in Altstetten central workshop ( ZW ) replaced the tram depot workshop in Seefeld and the Buswerkstätte in the depot Oerlikon. While minor maintenance also can do the depots and garages, is part of the remit of the ZW all of revisions, on retrofits and renovations to complete reconstruction of damaged cars.

Since the summer of 1993, the area of the ZW also houses the operational operating center VBZ ( silver cube) and the railway building workshop. As part of this expansion, the area received a normalspuriges siding, which branches off from the siding of the customs free warehouse and begins at the site of the former SBB main workshop Herder at Altstetten. Be delivered over this track regularly rails for the track construction camp, and since mid-2006 and again Tram vehicles that are delivered on standard gauge stools.

The central workshop also looks after the cars Forchbahn doing any work that exceed the capabilities of the depot workshop Forch.