Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH

Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH (VHH), trading since February 2024 under the brand name vhh.mobility, is a German municipal bus transport company based in Hamburg. It is the second-largest transport operator in northern Germany after Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HHA) and, with around 775–800 buses, the third-largest municipal bus operator in Germany. The company employs roughly 3,180 people. VHH operates urban and regional bus lines within the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund (HVV) network, primarily in Hamburg and the Holstein districts of Pinneberg, Segeberg, Stormarn and Herzogtum Lauenburg. Its services include city and local bus networks in towns such as Wedel, Schenefeld, Pinneberg, Quickborn, Norderstedt, Henstedt-Ulzburg, Bargteheide, Ahrensburg, Reinbek, Wentorf, Schwarzenbek, Geesthacht and Lauenburg, as well as extensive school transport. VHH also runs the on-demand service "hvv hop" in Hamburg-Harburg and southern Holstein, and an Anruf-Sammel-Taxi (AST) service in the Vier- und Marschlande area. The company traces its origins to the merger of two railway undertakings, the Bergedorf-Geesthachter Eisenbahn AG (BGE) and the Verkehrsbetriebe des Kreises Stormarn (VKSt). The Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein AG was founded on 7 April 1954 and entered in the commercial register on 2 June 1954. The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg held 88.11% of the shares, with the Kreis Stormarn holding 11.89%. At that time the company operated 73 buses on 20 bus lines covering 309 km, carrying 11.4 million passengers annually. From 2000 to 2012 VHH formed a group with Pinneberger Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH (PVG), and since 1 December 2012 the two companies have operated jointly as VHH. On 1 October 2015 the company changed its legal form from an Aktiengesellschaft (AG) to a GmbH. In February 2024 it adopted the brand name vhh.mobility. VHH is owned by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the Kreis Stormarn, and remains a public transport provider within the HVV network.

The origins of Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein lie in two railway undertakings that served the rural outskirts of Hamburg. In 1942 the idea emerged to merge several small Hamburg railway companies that were struggling financially. After the Second World War, passenger numbers on these railway lines collapsed, and newly delivered buses proved a cheaper and more efficient way to meet transport demand. Following the closure of passenger services on the Südstormarnsche Kreisbahn on 15 March 1952, the Kreis Stormarn (owner of the Verkehrsbetriebe des Kreises Stormarn, VKSt, founded in 1928) and the Bergedorf-Geesthachter Eisenbahn AG (BGE, founded on 31 August 1905) decided on 9 December 1952 to merge. On 1 September 1953 the BGE took over the management of the VKSt with the remaining operations of the Südstormarnsche Kreisbahn, its seven bus lines, 26 buses, 15 bus trailers and 108 employees, including 36 drivers and 27 conductors. After a BGE shareholders' meeting approved a capital increase, the Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein AG (VHH) was founded on 7 April 1954 and entered in the commercial register on 2 June 1954. The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg held 88.11% of the shares, and the Kreis Stormarn held 11.89%. At that time the company operated 73 buses, 23 passenger trailers and 3 luggage trailers on 20 bus lines with a total route length of 309 km, carrying 11.4 million passengers per year. The railway infrastructure (freight only) had a track length of 155 km; the AKN took over railway operations on VHH's facilities, while VHH remained the owner. From 2000 to 2012 the VHH-PVG corporate group existed as a Gleichordnungskonzern (a combination of equals) of Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein AG and Pinneberger Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH (PVG). In 2011 the group carried nearly 108 million passengers with a fleet of around 580 buses. Since 1 December 2012 the two companies have been merged and continue as VHH. To qualify for direct award of transport contracts in Hamburg, VHH must comply with various conditions, including operating only within the HVV network area. Consequently, the bus operation in Neumünster, which was outside the HVV area, was spun off from VHH at the turn of 2014/2015 and transferred, with operating assets and staff, to SWN Verkehr GmbH, part of Stadtwerke Neumünster Beteiligungen GmbH. The contract work for Stadtwerke Neumünster had generated revenue of €5.7 million in the final year. On 1 October 2015 VHH changed its legal form from an AG to a GmbH. Services on line A20 between Hamburg's central bus station at the Hauptbahnhof and Lübeck-Blankensee Airport, operated outside the HVV for many years as a feeder to flights via the A1 and A20 motorways, were discontinued on 31 May 2016 because no scheduled flights were operating there. In February 2024 the company introduced the brand name vhh.mobility. As of the mid-2020s, VHH employs around 3,180 people and operates roughly 775–800 buses, making it the third-largest municipal bus operator in Germany. It remains the second-largest transport company in northern Germany after Hamburger Hochbahn AG.

• 2024

  Brand name vhh.mobility introduced in February.

• 2018

  VHH begins operating bus line E30 (later X30) in December, serving all Hamburg districts.

• 2016

  Line A20 to Lübeck-Blankensee Airport discontinued on 31 May.

• 2015

  Legal form changed from AG to GmbH on 1 October.

• 2014

  Neumünster bus operations spun off to SWN Verkehr GmbH.

• 2012

  VHH and PVG merged into a single company on 1 December.

• 2000

  VHH-PVG corporate group formed.

• 1954

  Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein AG founded on 7 April; registered on 2 June.

• 1953

  BGE takes over management of VKSt and the Südstormarnsche Kreisbahn.

• 1952

  Kreis Stormarn and BGE decide to merge their transport operations.

Third-largest municipal bus operator in Germany and second-largest transport company in northern Germany, integrated into the HVV network.

• Urban and regional bus lines

  Operated within the HVV network in Hamburg and surrounding Holstein districts.

• hvv hop on-demand service

  On-demand transport in Hamburg-Harburg, Henstedt-Ulzburg and Trittau/Brunsbek/Siek.

• Anruf-Sammel-Taxi (AST 829)

  Late-night shared taxi service in the Vier- und Marschlande area.

• School transport

  Dedicated school bus services within the HVV, including trips to swimming pools.

1. 1vhh.mobility | Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbHvhh-mobility.de
2. 2Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
3. 3Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein – Wikidatawikidata.org