Städtischer Verkehrsbetrieb Esslingen am Neckar

Städtischer Verkehrsbetrieb Esslingen am Neckar (SVE) is the municipal public transport undertaking of the city of Esslingen am Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is organised as a kommunaler Eigenbetrieb (a municipal enterprise without its own legal personality), owned by the city and assigned to Department III of the city administration. Its roots go back to the Eßlinger Städtische Straßenbahn (ESS), founded for the opening of the Esslingen tramway in 1912. After the tramway closed in 1944, the undertaking switched to trolleybuses and was renamed; since 1951 it has been a municipal enterprise in its own right. SVE operates the Esslingen trolleybus system on lines 101, 113 and 118, together with eleven motorbus lines (102–105, 108–111, 113, 115, 118, 132 and 138) and the night bus lines N12 and N13. Its services cover the city of Esslingen am Neckar and also reach the Stuttgart districts of Hedelfingen and Obertürkheim. Fares and timetable information are integrated into the Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart (VVS), the Stuttgart regional transport and tariff association. The company is headed by a technical and a commercial works manager (Werkleiter), who report to the city administration; since 2015 the responsible department head has been the city's finance mayor, Ingo Rust. SVE has historically been notable for its trolleybus operation, for its role in the Esslinger Verkehrs-Gemeinschaft (EVG) from 1968 to 1993, and for being the last German transport operator to use authority licence plates, until 2020. In 2017 the city awarded SVE the transport services of the Linienbündel 2 for ten years; after the insolvency of subcontractor Albert Rexer GmbH & Co KG, SVE has since 1 January 2021 again operated all municipal bus lines in Esslingen itself.

The roots of Esslingen's municipal transport go back more than a hundred years, tied to the opening of the municipal tramway in 1912. The history of the Eßlinger Städtische Straßenbahn began on 16 November 1911 with the laying of the foundation stone for the carriage hall on Oberesslinger (today Plochinger) Strasse. Construction and operation of the Esslingen tramway had been transferred to the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB). The first tram line ran from Oberesslingen to Obertürkheim and was inaugurated on 24 May 1912. The second line, the city line from the station to Charlottenplatz via Marktplatz, Rathausplatz and Küferstrasse, opened on 2 July 1912; the fare was five pfennigs. Passenger numbers rose steadily until the First World War, but soon after the war began the city line had to be closed because of low ridership and material shortages. In 1917 the track and overhead line installations on the main Obertürkheim–Oberesslingen line were expanded, and with the economic upswing passenger numbers recovered, reaching a peak in the 1930s up to 1939. During the Second World War the operating facilities could no longer be maintained, and the tram quickly became an obstacle to traffic. In 1943 it was decided to replace the single-track tramway with trolleybuses. After 32 years, the Esslinger Städtische Strassenbahn ceased operation on 7 July 1944, making Esslingen the first town in Württemberg to replace its tramway with trolleybuses. In 1950 the company agreement with the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG that had existed since 1911 was terminated. On 1 January 1951 the SVE took over trolleybus operation from the SSB and simultaneously became a municipal Eigenbetrieb. On 1 July 1953, supplementing the two trolleybus lines, the first motorbus line was established: line 3 to the Gartenstadt Oberesslingen. Within the framework of the Esslinger Verkehrs-Gemeinschaft (EVG), founded on 1 February 1968, there was also a transport association with the private operators Fischle, Schefenacker and Schlienz, under the lead of the SVE, responsible for coordinating timetables and fares. Initially only transfer tickets were offered, and from 1979/1980 a genuine joint tariff. In 1993 the Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart (VVS) replaced the EVG. At the end of February 1978 the Esslingen–Nellingen–Denkendorf tramway, operated since 1926 and with a branch from Nellingen via Scharnhausen to Neuhausen, was closed and replaced by motorbuses. Until the end of 2015 the SVE provided the operating performance on the three motorbus lines 119, 120 and 121 of the END Verkehrsgesellschaft under contract; for this purpose it had put its first articulated buses into service. In 2017 the city of Esslingen entrusted the SVE with providing the transport services of the Linienbündel 2 for ten years. Of the total of around three million scheduled kilometres, the SVE performs 63 percent itself. The remaining 37 percent was awarded as a subcontractor service to the private Albert Rexer GmbH & Co KG of Calw, which procured new motorbuses in Esslingen city colours especially for this purpose to ensure a uniform appearance. The tender was carried out line-by-line, so that the SVE operated lines 101, 102, 103, 105, 111, 113 and 118 and Rexer the daytime lines 104, 108, 109, 110, 112, 115, 132, 138 as well as the two new night bus lines N12 and N13. Because of the insolvency of the firm Rexer, since 1 January 2021 the SVE has again operated all municipal bus lines in Esslingen itself. Trolleybuses run on lines 101, 113 and 118; the latter two are not fully equipped with overhead lines and are therefore operated in sections using battery auxiliary drive. The aim is to operate all SVE lines in this way in the future. The SVE was – because of its organisation as a municipal Eigenbetrieb – the last transport operator in Germany to use authority licence plates. This was the case until 2020 and affected all vehicles registered before the abolition of this type of plate on 1 March 2007. Since then ordinary plates with the combination ES-VE and a three-digit number have been issued.

• Foundation stone laid for the carriage hall on Oberesslinger Strasse, marking the start of the Eßlinger Städtische Straßenbahn.

• First tram line from Oberesslingen to Obertürkheim inaugurated.

• Second tram line (city line from station to Charlottenplatz) opened; fare five pfennigs.

• Tramway ceased operation; Esslingen became the first town in Württemberg to replace trams with trolleybuses.

• Company agreement with Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG terminated.

• SVE took over trolleybus operation from SSB and became a municipal Eigenbetrieb.

• First motorbus line (line 3 to Gartenstadt Oberesslingen) established.

• Esslinger Verkehrs-Gemeinschaft (EVG) founded with private operators Fischle, Schefenacker and Schlienz.

• Esslingen–Nellingen–Denkendorf tramway closed and replaced by motorbuses.

• Genuine joint tariff introduced within the EVG.

• Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart (VVS) replaced the EVG.

• Ingo Rust, finance mayor, became head of Department III responsible for SVE.

• City of Esslingen awarded SVE the transport services of Linienbündel 2 for ten years.

• After Rexer's insolvency, SVE again operated all municipal bus lines in Esslingen itself.

Municipal public transport provider integrated into the Stuttgart VVS tariff network, with a distinctive trolleybus operation.

• Trolleybus lines 101, 113, 118

• Motorbus lines 102–105, 108–111, 113, 115, 118, 132, 138

• Night bus lines N12, N13

• VVS tickets and subscriptions

1. 1SVE Esslingen: Startseitesve-es.de
2. 2SVE Esslingen: Geschichtesve-es.de
3. 3Städtischer Verkehrsbetrieb Esslingen am Neckar – Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Städtischer Verkehrsbetrieb Esslingen am Neckar – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org