Nahverkehr Hohenlohekreis

Nahverkehr Hohenlohekreis (NVH) is the public transport authority and bus network operator for the Hohenlohekreis, a rural district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is an Eigenbetrieb (a municipal enterprise) of the district and acts as the Bestellerorganisation — the body that commissions and coordinates public bus services on behalf of the district. NVH is the direct successor to the Nahverkehrsmodell Hohenlohe, a pilot project launched in 1979 to improve public transport in a sparsely populated rural area. The original goals were ambitious: hourly service to every settlement with more than fifty inhabitants, using buses only. Passenger service on the Kochertalbahn railway was temporarily suspended for the duration of the trial, and since 1991 no trains have run on that line. The model's service density was gradually reduced over time, but the operation was transferred almost seamlessly into the permanent successor organisation, NVH. NVH does not operate buses itself; instead, it contracts with a network of partner bus companies, including Omnibusverkehr Gerd Eisemann, Walter Herbold, Hütter-Lidle, Metzger Reisen, Schwab Omnibusverkehr, Stadtbus Schwäbisch Hall, SWEG Bus, Omnibus-Verkehr Ruoff, and others. The district commissioned NVH for a ten-year period, and in 2019, for the first time in NVH's history, the transport services were awarded through a competitive EU-wide negotiated procedure. Ten lots were formed to allow small and medium-sized enterprises to bid, and the new transport contract took effect with the timetable change on 15 December 2019. As of the early 2020s, NVH reports approximately 130 buses in daily operation, 58 bus lines serving over 800 stops, about 5.5 million passengers annually, and an annual operating distance of roughly 7.5 million kilometres. The network is organised into four branded line types: the blue RegioBus for general area coverage, the turquoise FrankenExpress for fast connections between medium-sized centres, the pink StadtBus for intra-urban service, and the yellow TaxiBus for demand-responsive services linking small, remote hamlets. Two RegioBus lines (7 and 19) offer at least hourly service between Künzelsau and Waldenburg or Bad Mergentheim, with free Wi-Fi and air-conditioned buses. NVH also runs a Busschule (bus school) programme for primary school pupils to teach safe bus behaviour. Since 1 April 2005, NVH has been integrated into the Heilbronner Hohenloher Haller Nahverkehr (HNV) tariff association while continuing to exist as an entity.

The origins of Nahverkehr Hohenlohekreis (NVH) lie in the Nahverkehrsmodell Hohenlohe, a pilot project launched in 1979 to improve public transport in the sparsely populated rural Hohenlohe district. The initial goals were ambitious: hourly service to every settlement with more than fifty inhabitants, using buses only. Passenger service on the Kochertalbahn railway, which ran along the Kocher valley settlement axis, was temporarily suspended for the duration of the trial because a mixed bus-rail operation was not part of the study. Since 1991, no trains have run on that line. The model's service density was gradually reduced over the years, but there was never a sharp break; after some years the operation was transferred almost seamlessly into the permanent successor organisation, NVH. NVH is an Eigenbetrieb (municipal enterprise) of the Hohenlohekreis and serves as the district's Bestellerorganisation for public bus transport. It does not operate buses itself but commissions services from private bus companies. By 2004/2005, NVH served around 1,300 stops on an area of 780 km² with approximately 110 vehicles. Across 60 lines, the vehicles covered about 6.6 million kilometres annually. In 2003, NVH carried over 9.0 million passengers. Since 1 April 2005, NVH has been integrated into the Heilbronner Hohenloher Haller Nahverkehr (HNV) tariff association, while continuing to exist as an entity. In 2019, for the first time in NVH's history, the transport services were awarded through a competitive EU-wide negotiated procedure. This followed the updating of the district's public transport plan and the district's commissioning of NVH for a ten-year period. Ten lots were formed to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to bid, and the new transport contract took effect with the timetable change on 15 December 2019. As of the early 2020s, NVH reports approximately 130 buses in daily operation, 58 bus lines serving over 800 stops, about 5.5 million passengers annually, and an annual operating distance of roughly 7.5 million kilometres. The network is organised into four branded line types: RegioBus (blue), FrankenExpress (turquoise), StadtBus (pink), and TaxiBus (yellow). RegioBus lines 7 and 19 offer at least hourly service between Künzelsau and Waldenburg or Bad Mergentheim, with free Wi-Fi and air-conditioned buses. NVH also runs a Busschule programme for school classes in the district.

• 2019

  First competitive EU-wide tender for transport services; new contract effective 15 December.

• 2005

  NVH integrated into the Heilbronner Hohenloher Haller Nahverkehr (HNV) tariff association on 1 April.

• 2003

  NVH carried over 9.0 million passengers.

• 1991

  Passenger service on the Kochertalbahn railway permanently discontinued.

• 1979

  Nahverkehrsmodell Hohenlohe pilot project launched to improve rural public transport.

Public transport authority and network manager for a rural district, commissioning bus services from private operators under a unified brand and tariff.

• RegioBus

  Blue-branded lines for general area coverage; most NVH lines are RegioBus.

• FrankenExpress

  Turquoise-branded fast connections between medium-sized centres.

• StadtBus

  Pink-branded intra-urban lines in larger towns or between parts of a municipality.

• TaxiBus

  Yellow-branded demand-responsive services linking small, remote hamlets to the network.

• Busschule

  Road safety education programme for school classes (grades 1–5) in the NVH area.

1. 1NVH - Nahverkehr Hohenlohekreisnvh.de
2. 2Partnernvh.de
3. 3NVH - Nahverkehr Hohenlohekreisnvh.de
4. 4NVH - Nahverkehr Hohenlohekreisnvh.de
5. 5Nahverkehr Hohenlohekreiswikidata.org
6. 6Nahverkehr Hohenlohekreisde.wikipedia.org