85 years O-Bus in Eberswalde: A festival of history and mobility!

85 years O-Bus in Eberswalde: A festival of history and mobility!

Poratzstraße 68, 16225 Eberswalde, Deutschland - We celebrate a very special anniversary in just 85 days: On September 13, 2025, the 85th anniversary of the overhead line (O-BUS) will be celebrated in the Nordend depot in Eberswalde from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. From the first O-Bus in 1940 to the modern electric buses from today-the history of the Eberswalder O-Busse is an exciting chapter in regional traffic history. According to Barnim Aktuell , guests can look forward to a varied program, which includes six stations: "O-bus historical", "O-bus current", "Open goals", "delicacies" and "Information" & Entertainment". Detailed program notes will be published in mid -August.

Did you know that Eberswalde is the oldest active O-Bus operation in Germany? The O-Bus network was opened on September 1, 1940 and has been running since then-only interrupted by the turmoil of the war. The maiden voyage took place on November 3, 1940 and the first vehicle, an MPE 1, had an output of 61 kilowatts. The story started with it sees numerous twists, including that until 1985, O-Busse also had supporters, which was particularly helpful in times of high passenger rank, as BBG Eberswalde reported.

The development of the O-Bus system

The history of the Eberswalder O-Bus system began in 1901 at Alsenplatz, but the first line could not be maintained long. It was not until 1940 that a new attempt was made, which was to shape mobility in the city from now on. Despite the destruction in the war that the depot suffered from a bombing in 1945, the company was always continued and modernized. Over the years, new models came into play, from the first MPE 1 to vehicles from the ŠKODA brand to the modern O-buses of the Solaris/Cegelec series, which were procured between 2010 and 2012.

A large innovation is in April 2024: Then come new four-generation O-Buses that can drive without an emission without overhead line. Eberswalde thus establishes itself as a model company for sustainable electromobility from an industrial perspective, since the vehicle fleet is equipped with powerful traction batteries, as is also possible on the side of bbg Eberswalde

electromobility in the German context

The O-BUS is not only an important means of transport in Eberswalde. The trend towards electromobility is unmistakable all over Germany. In 2021 over 1.2 million electric vehicles were on the road, including around 664,000 pure electric cars, as the Promotion Association for Electromobility . This shows that the city of Eberswalde with its O-Bus system not only has a local, but also a nationwide relevance. The development of the O-Bus ’is part of the trend to make local public transport more sustainable and to adapt to future mobility requirements.

The countdown to the big festival of the O-Bus network has started and the anticipation increases. Everyone who is interested in the history and future of mobility in Eberswalde are welcome to participate in the festival and to personally experience the development of the O-Bus! Keep up September 13, 2025 to celebrate and learn more about this sustainable way of getting around!