Offenbach city bus services to be extended with the timetable change
11.12.2024 – From Sunday, December 15, 2024, new timetables for buses and trains will apply nationwide. There will also be extensive changes to Offenbach's city bus services: The service will be extended by 160,000 kilometers per year.
Public transport is important for many people in Offenbach to get to work, the doctor, clubs or friends. In 2023, 12.4 million passengers used Offenbach's city bus service. Mayor and Head of Mobility Sabine Groß announces: "With the timetable change, we will expand our bus services by 160,000 kilometers per year - contrary to the trend in other cities. In July 2022, we had to reduce the mileage by 550,000 kilometers per year. We have worked hard to ensure that we can expand the bus service again without needing additional funding."
The expansion of the service without additional costs for the city is possible thanks to the successful reorganization process within the company.
Expansion of operations on Sundays
The timetable change will see an expansion of services on Sundays: Between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., buses will run every hour on all routes in future - with the exception of routes 107 and 120, which will continue not to run on Sundays. "For people who work shifts, for example in care or at the airport, it is important that buses also run early on Sunday mornings," says Managing Director Anja Georgi.
Line 106A is being extended to become line 106 again
With the timetable change, line 106A will once again become line 106 and will then run from Caritas via Marktplatz, Offenbach Ost and Wetterpark to the final stop "Hessenring" at the senior center. In future, line 106 will run every hour between the "Caritas / Buchrainweiher" stop and "Offenbach Ost", and every 30 minutes between "Offenbach Ost" and the "Hessenring" terminus. "Line 106 will provide better connections to the Caritas nursing home and the municipal senior citizens' center, both Offenbach hospitals as well as the VDE and the THW," says Sabine Groß. The Innovation Campus, Quartier 4.0, the schools on Buchhügel and the police headquarters as well as the Wetterpark and the children's and youth farm on Buchhügel can also be reached using line 106. Residents along Buchhügelallee, the retirement homes and the senior citizens' center will have a shorter route to the bus stop again thanks to the extension of line 106.
Adjustments on almost all lines
There are also adjustments on the other lines: Line 101 will be extended to the Bieber Waldhof S-Bahn station. In future, line 102 will run between Bieber Waldhof S-Bahn station (and industrial area) and the main railway station (instead of Kaiserlei). Passengers will benefit from the direct route and the option to change trains at the main station. Passengers wishing to travel west can change to lines 103, 104, 105 or 108 at the Offenbach Ost stop or at Marktplatz.
Lines 105 and 108 will be extended to Kaiserlei when the timetable changes. "This means that e-buses can also be temporarily charged on these two lines at Kaiserlei and used more efficiently," explains Yoel Elias, Operations Manager of the municipal utility company Offenbacher Verkehrsbetriebe (OVB). "The extension of line 105 will create a new direct connection between the sports facilities and schools on Rosenhöhe and Kaiserlei. The extension of line 108 from Marktplatz to Kaiserlei will provide a direct link to Offenbach's western districts."
Better connection of the city districts in the evening hours
From around 9 p.m., city buses will run every 30 minutes - as before - and every hour from midnight. By adjusting the routes and departure times, bus routes that run to the same parts of the city will run every 15 or 30 minutes in future. "Lines 104 and 105, for example, both go to Lauterborn. Because the buses depart from Marktplatz at different times, passengers will be able to travel to Lauterborn every 15 minutes between 9 p.m. and midnight and every half hour from midnight until the end of service," says operations manager Yoel Elias.
All changes can be viewed in detail at www.offenbach.de/fahrplanwechsel or in the timetable book. The timetable book is available at the mobility center in Salzgässchen.
Expanded offer is the new minimum offer
"To ensure that the service remains sustainable, we have extended the existing minimum service to include this additional transport capacity. Minimum service means that there is a commitment not to fall behind this service. I would like to thank the city councillors for approving this in April," says Sabine Groß.
