Nahverkehr Mainfranken

Nahverkehr Mainfranken (NVM) is a German public transport tariff and transport association (Tarif- und Verkehrsverbund) covering the entire Mainfranken region of Bavaria. It was founded on 12 December 2017 as Nahverkehr Mainfranken GmbH with the participation of the region's Landkreise and kreisfreie Städte, and it began full association operations on 1 January 2025, replacing the older Verkehrsunternehmens-Verbund Mainfranken (VVM) and various transport communities around Schweinfurt. Its stated motto is "Ein Netz. Ein Ticket. Ein Tarif." — one network, one ticket, one tariff — for the whole region. The NVM area covers the planning region Würzburg (No. 2) and the planning region Main-Rhön/Schweinfurt (No. 3). Its member territories include the city and district of Würzburg, the districts of Kitzingen and Main-Spessart, the city and district of Schweinfurt, and the districts of Bad Kissingen, Rhön-Grabfeld and Haßberge. Within this area the NVM coordinates uniform fares and harmonised timetables among the various public transport operators, integrating rail, regional and city bus services, and on-demand line taxis (Anruflinientaxen). As a transport association rather than a transport operator itself, the NVM does not run buses or trains directly. Instead it sets the tariff structure, publishes line and timetable information, sells tickets through its online ticket shop and advance sales points, and provides passenger services such as lost-and-found. Its fare system is zone-based (Tarifwaben), with the price depending on the number of zones travelled and a cap applied from the twelfth zone onward. A special "Großwabe" tariff applies in the city of Würzburg and the neighbouring municipalities of Höchberg and Gerbrunn. The NVM offers single tickets, 6-ride cards, day tickets for solo travellers and groups, monthly and subscription season tickets, a 9-o'clock subscription, training and semester tickets for students at Würzburger Hochschulen and THWS Schweinfurt, and accepts special fares such as the Bayern-Ticket, Bayern-Ticket Nacht and the Deutschlandticket. Because the region borders several other transport networks, transitional arrangements exist with the Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg (VGN) and with services extending into Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Thuringia. Fourteen Regionalexpress and Regionalbahn lines run through the NVM area, connecting Würzburg with Schweinfurt, Bamberg, Nürnberg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Erfurt and Munich, among other destinations. Only the RB 50, RB 80 and RE 57 operate exclusively within the NVM area; the others link to neighbouring networks. The association is municipally owned and operates as a GmbH, with the city of Würzburg being the last shareholder to approve the introduction of the new association tariff in July 2024.

Public transport in the Würzburg area was organised under the Würzburger Tarifverbund until 2004. On 1 August 2004 that body was replaced by the Verkehrsunternehmens-Verbund Mainfranken (VVM), which introduced a new honeycomb/zone tariff (Wabentarif) but remained an association of transport companies rather than a single authority. On 1 February 2009 the VVM area was extended to include the neighbouring Kitzinger Nahverkehrsgemeinschaft (KiNG); a cooperation with the Kitzingen district had existed since autumn 2006, under which KiNG tickets were valid on Würzburg city services. From 1 August 2013 public transport in the Main-Spessart district also belonged to the VVM. Even at that stage there were efforts to create a common authority-based association for the whole Mainfranken region. To that end, in December 2017 the Nahverkehr Mainfranken GmbH was founded with the participation of the Landkreise and kreisfreie Städte of Mainfranken. The original plan envisaged a step-by-step integration of the existing transport companies into the new association through cooperation agreements, with operations to begin on 1 August 2022. This plan was delayed because the necessary traffic counts — the basis for future transport planning and revenue distribution — could only start in 2022. That process ran under the motto "Nahverkehr zählt" until April 2023. In July 2024 the city of Würzburg became the last of the participating shareholders to approve the introduction of the new association tariff. The NVM was therefore able to begin association operations on 1 January 2025, at which point it replaced the Verkehrsunternehmens-Verbund Mainfranken. The NVM covers the entire Mainfranken region, comprising the planning region Würzburg (No. 2) and the planning region Main-Rhön/Schweinfurt (No. 3), and is responsible for uniform fares and coordinated timetables among the various public transport providers.

• 2025

  NVM began association operations on 1 January 2025, replacing the Verkehrsunternehmens-Verbund Mainfranken.

• 2024

  City of Würzburg, the last participating shareholder, approved the new association tariff in July 2024.

• 2022

  Necessary traffic counts began in 2022 under the motto "Nahverkehr zählt", running until April 2023.

• 2017

  Nahverkehr Mainfranken GmbH founded in December 2017 with the participation of the Landkreise and kreisfreie Städte of Mainfranken.

• 2013

  Public transport in the Main-Spessart district joined the VVM on 1 August 2013.

• 2009

  VVM area extended to include the Kitzinger Nahverkehrsgemeinschaft (KiNG) on 1 February 2009.

• 2006

  Cooperation with the Kitzingen district began in autumn 2006, extending KiNG ticket validity to Würzburg city services.

• 2004

  Würzburger Tarifverbund replaced by the Verkehrsunternehmens-Verbund Mainfranken (VVM) on 1 August 2004.

A regional public transport tariff and transport association unifying fares and timetables across Mainfranken under the motto "Ein Netz. Ein Ticket. Ein Tarif."

• Einzelkarte Erwachsener/Kind (single ticket adult/child)

• 6er-Karte Erwachsener (6-ride card adult)

• Tageskarte Solo/Gruppe (day ticket solo/group)

• Monatskarte (monthly ticket)

• Monatskarte Abo (monthly subscription)

• 9-Uhr-Abo (9-o'clock subscription)

• Monatskarte Ausbildung (training monthly ticket)

• Semesterticket (THWS Schweinfurt, Würzburger Hochschulen)

• Bayern-Ticket, Bayern-Ticket Nacht, Deutschlandticket (special fares)

1. 1Startseite | NVM Nahverkehr Mainfrankennahverkehr-mainfranken.de
2. 2Nahverkehr Mainfranken — Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
3. 3Nahverkehr Mainfranken — Wikidatawikidata.org