Prologue
The years 2023 and 2024 were years of change and focus for ESWE Verkehr. The transformation process initiated in 2023 as part of our strategic realignment was successfully continued in 2024. Throughout this period, we clearly focused on our core business: transporting the people of Wiesbaden and operating our bus services. With great dedication, we succeeded in bringing more stability to the company while simultaneously setting important course markers for the future.
The further development of our strategy, organization, and corporate culture, the planning for the second bus depot, the route network reform, and the preparations for the early extension of the Public Service Contract (ÖDA) all reflect major tasks and dynamic times. Together, they underscore our strong position as a key driver of the mobility transition in Wiesbaden.
I would like to thank all colleagues, the decision-makers in Wiesbaden’s local politics, as well as the Supervisory Board and Works Council members for their constructive cooperation.
This annual report provides you with a comprehensive overview of the key developments and results of ESWE Verkehr in the financial years 2023 and 2024. I hope you find it an interesting read.
We remain firmly committed to managing the municipal resources entrusted to us responsibly and to giving our best every single day for a stable and reliable public transport system in Wiesbaden.
For our passengers, for our city – for all of us.
Marion Hebding has been the Managing Director of ESWE Verkehr since June 1, 2023. Initially responsible for the commercial areas, she has also been in charge of the operational and technical areas as the sole Managing Director since December 2023. Interim Managing Director Jan Görnemann was responsible for the technical division from December 2021 to December 2023. Martin Weis had been responsible for the commercial areas until March 31, 2023.
Question 1
You have been the managing director of ESWE Verkehr since mid-2023. What has impressed you the most during this time?
My goal was to guide ESWE Verkehr into calmer waters. Of course, in my position, the focus is primarily on financial matters, decisions, and strategies for the future. However, the people are always important to me. ESWE Verkehr provides mobility by people for people. From the very beginning, it was a priority for me to establish participatory formats and involve the workforce. I was pleased to see how many people strongly identify with ESWE Verkehr, how decisions are supported internally, and how willing they are to embrace change. This gave me confidence, and the positive results of the employee satisfaction survey strengthened me further.
Question 2
In 2023, a strategic realignment was initiated: Why was this necessary?
ESWE Verkehr was going through a disruptive phase, which was challenging for everyone. In times of limited resources, we had to consolidate our efforts in 2023 and focus on our core business, which is bus transportation. We developed and adopted a new strategy. The strategy was created in collaboration with the employees, which was personally very important to me. In the end, we developed a vision that will help us meet the challenges of our time. Our actions are focused on a threefold goal: satisfied passengers, satisfied employees, and satisfied stakeholders. This is what we aim to reliably implement every day – and, to respond with our successful brand slogan – For all of us.
Question 3
What key areas of action have emerged from this?
The focus is on four major tasks: the early extension of the public service contract (ÖDA) beyond 2027, the bus network reform as part of the redesign of the local public transport plan, the construction of a second depot due to significant capacity bottlenecks, and the realignment of the fleet concept. These prioritized topics are crucial for the company's long-term viability and the future of local transport in Wiesbaden. These tasks are interconnected and cannot be viewed in isolation. The implementation of the strategy is an ongoing process, but we have already made significant progress.
Question 4
In May 2024, the completion of the electromobility project was celebrated. Why was this important, and how will the further electrification of the fleet be pursued?
Our environmentally friendly electric buses are operating daily in the network and have already contributed to making public transport in Wiesbaden quieter and cleaner. Thanks to the completion of the project, we are now technically equipped to operate our battery-powered buses in parallel, while also reducing costs and conserving resources through demand-based and automated charging. Implementing this cross-departmental project while maintaining regular operations was a challenge.
If we want to further expand our fleet of 120 electric solo vehicles by adding a significantly higher number of fully electric articulated buses, this is not feasible at our current location. Our depot has long been operating at full capacity. The further electrification will take place in gradual steps.
Question 5
In the 2023 and 2024 financial years, the timetable was adjusted several times, including reductions. At the end of 2024, these reductions were reversed. How important was it to return to the regular schedule?
We asked a lot from our passengers and our staff. It was a real rollercoaster. First, in 2023, due to the shortage of skilled workers, and then in 2024, due to funding cuts. Reductions in the timetable, such as those in April 2024, were difficult business decisions, but they were necessary given the circumstances. The water main break at the main train station in mid-2024 also caused significant challenges. Due to the extensive diversion traffic, a lot was demanded from our passengers and our planning and operations staff. Fortunately, we were able to expand the service again at the end of the year and return to the regular schedule.
I am pleased that in 2024 we were able to increase our passenger numbers once again, after the decline in 2023. 58.5 million passengers per year in local public transport and over 300,000 on our historic Nerobergbahn is a strong signal. What we need now is trust in our performance. I will continue to work hard to ensure that we can maintain this level. Wiesbaden needs a strong and reliable public transport system.
Question 6
It is important to you that ESWE Verkehr positions itself as a socially responsible and attractive employer. How do these attributes manifest for you?
We want to be close to people and support our employees. For example, measures like further education programs and employee benefits, such as offerings within corporate health management, the free job ticket, or the bike leasing program introduced in 2024, all contribute to our attractiveness as an employer. The development has been positive. We have managed to reduce turnover and absenteeism in the 2023 financial year, and we are seeing consistently high numbers of applicants.
Securing the future is an important issue because, in the coming years, the "baby boomer" generations will reach retirement age. That’s why we focus on training people locally. We see this as a societal responsibility. I am proud that, in 2024, we successfully introduced the new vocational qualification as a transport operations specialist and filled all training positions. Our goal is not to train people for the labor market, but for the future of the company.
Question 7
You have initiated a cultural shift within the company. What is behind this, and how was it implemented?
The cultural shift is important for our company to remain open, adaptable, and future-oriented. We want to strengthen collaboration, foster trust, and create space for new ideas. The goal is to move away from silo thinking or even a culture of fear, towards more exchange, participation, and the courage to try new things across departmental boundaries. Since 2023, we have been working on this and, for example, introduced dialogue formats that bring employees from different departments together and directly engage them in conversations with management. The cultural shift is not a project but a collective, ongoing process – and it’s not finished. I continue to focus on involvement and the willingness to improve things.
Question 8
ChatGPT: How do you address the challenges of rising costs and upcoming obstacles while still maintaining your social responsibility as an employer?
As managing director, I also have to make decisions that aren’t always popular with everyone. That’s part of the job, as is maintaining open and transparent communication within the company. Together with the entire management team, I’m confident that we are on the right track and can achieve our strategic goals while staying focused on our core business. However, this also means continuously questioning ourselves and making changes where they make sense.
Question 9
Looking ahead: What are the key goals for the coming years?
It is very important to me that we continue to manage our resources efficiently and responsibly. We need stability and continued support from our stakeholders. A renewed contract for the ÖDA would be a strong signal, and the implementation of the bus network reform is an extremely important task for local transport that will occupy us extensively. We aim to push forward with the other major projects related to this. The groundwork has been laid to make bus services in Wiesbaden fit for the future, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us in the coming years.
Charging infrastructure expanded, depot management for electric vehicles introduced
With its fleet of 120 battery-electric buses, ESWE Verkehr is one of the pioneers in Germany. In May 2024, the successful completion of the associated electromobility project was celebrated. Following a construction measure that added 24 charging points, every electrically powered solo bus has since been equipped with its own charging station on the depot premises. In addition to the charging infrastructure, the project included depot management with intelligent load and charging control. This enables cost-optimized and demand-oriented load and charging schedules, as well as flexible preconditioning of all vehicles. Charging cycles are carried out automatically.
Further electrification of the fleet in small steps
The electrification of the fleet will continue in the coming years in smaller increments. The goal on the path toward sustainable public transport in Wiesbaden is to expand to electric articulated buses, also in light of the route network reform. In 2025, an electric articulated bus will first be tested in Wiesbaden’s route operations, including its energy consumption. Federal subsidy programs for alternative drives and the necessary infrastructure were no longer available by the end of the 2024 fiscal year, which complicates further expansion of the electric fleet. In 2024, the electric buses covered around 44 percent of total transport performance and saved approx. 6,922 tons of CO₂ compared to diesel buses.
Sale of hydrogen buses
Due to capacity constraints at the ESWE Verkehr depot, a decision was already made in 2022 to sell the hydrogen bus fleet. The relocation of the hydrogen filling station (owned by the Mainz-Wiesbaden transport association) is still pending. Five fuel-cell buses were sold in 2023, and four more in 2024. The final vehicle was sold in 2025.
For the time being, ESWE Verkehr is pursuing a fleet strategy based on two types of propulsion: fully electric battery buses and low-emission diesel buses.
The year 2024 ended with good news for Wiesbaden’s bus services: at the timetable change in December, ESWE Verkehr returned to regular service. This allowed the necessary reductions introduced in April—due to the city budget—to be fully reversed in a final step. In particular, late-evening service gaps were closed again based on passenger requests.
Periods of instability caused by timetable changes have significantly affected operations within the company in recent years for various reasons and have demanded a great deal from passengers. For an extended period in 2023, only a Saturday schedule was offered. A shortage of skilled bus drivers had led to reduced weekday service in the year before. In September 2023, the timetable was expanded again because ESWE Verkehr—like other municipal transport companies—decided to contract out part of its services to two subcontractors. This arrangement covers around 15 percent of total operated kilometers.
Since 2024, ESWE Verkehr has been using front cameras in 14 buses. These cameras are intended to document improperly parked vehicles on bus lanes, environmental lanes, or at stops via photographic evidence—activated voluntarily by bus drivers. By forwarding images to traffic authorities, offenders can be held accountable through fines. One aim of this innovative and data-protection-compliant project is to speed up bus operations.
Reductions and a burst water pipe
In April 2024, financial reasons led to another timetable reduction. Budget-saving requirements from the City of Wiesbaden also affected our company, and the cuts to evening, Sunday, and holiday services were unavoidable. By December, services were gradually restored.
At the end of June 2024, a burst water pipe near the main station caused extensive route diversions. Many of the 44 bus lines were affected, and delays and cancellations were unavoidable. It was not until mid-August that operations at Gustav-Stresemann-Ring returned to “free travel.” ESWE Verkehr reviewed the incident to identify areas where processes could be improved, using the findings as lessons learned for better preparedness in future cases.
External influences and unexpected disruptions to bus services—such as unplanned construction work like the burst water pipe or the Salzbachtal Bridge (which led to a sharp increase in private traffic)—will continue to occur. Nonetheless, ESWE Verkehr’s declared goal for 2025 and the years ahead remains unchanged: to provide the population of Wiesbaden with a reliable service offering.
The year 2024 marked a milestone in the development of a future-proof public transport system in Wiesbaden. By a decision of the City of Wiesbaden, ESWE Verkehr was officially commissioned to implement the network restructuring. Subject to the pending financing approval, the basic network is set to be operational by summer 2027. The current network dates back to 1969 and has been adjusted only in specific instances, such as for urban development changes.
The design of the new plan is based on an extensive analysis, a mobility simulation, as well as input from citizens and consultations with the 26 local councils of Wiesbaden, which were intended to ensure that the new network is optimally aligned with the actual mobility needs. The new network aims to retain the strengths of the current system while optimizing the overall network. The goal is to create a modern, attractive, easy-to-understand, and sustainable public transport system in Wiesbaden.
For the creation of the fourth local transport plan for the state capital Wiesbaden, the planning firms ioki GmbH (Frankfurt am Main) and Planersocietät (Dortmund) were commissioned as part of a joint project with the Rheingau-Taunus district. The basic network resulting from the planning process is the first major objective of the network restructuring. It will then be further developed toward a target network.
Compared to the existing system, the new network offers fundamental advantages: for example, it allows for connections to urban development projects (such as the Rheinhöhe sports park, BKA campus, Wallauer Spange) and introduces additional cross-connections (linking outer districts) as well as new routes, which together improve the travel time ratio.
Furthermore, the network is tied to a frequency promise, ensuring that bus lines will operate at regular intervals throughout the day, typically every 15 or 30 minutes. Because many daily routes will no longer involve detours through the city center and the districts will be better connected to each other, bus travel will be more competitive with car use on many routes. The new network plan thus forms a key foundation for a sustainable mobility transformation in Wiesbaden and the surrounding region.
The introduction of the Deutschlandticket on May 1, 2023, also marked a clear strengthening of local public transport in Wiesbaden. The ticket enables nationwide travel on local and regional transport—initially for 49 euros per month. In its first year, the Deutschlandticket led to increased revenue and passenger numbers at ESWE Verkehr.
Digital implementation
The Deutschlandticket was introduced with extremely short notice and presented ESWE Verkehr, like other transport companies, with new challenges. ESWE Verkehr quickly developed its own smartphone app that enables digital purchase, management, and display of the ticket. This meant that, upon launch, the ticket was available either via the “ESWE Verkehr Tickets” app or as a chip card eTicket.
Despite the limited preparation period, the introduction of the Deutschlandticket was implemented successfully, with technical reliability and a customer-oriented approach.
The significantly increased subscription numbers compensated for potential revenue losses despite uniform pricing. Of the total 66,200 subscriptions at the end of 2024, around 26,000 were Deutschlandticket subscriptions (including Hessenpass mobil, D-Ticket Job, and associated app-based solutions).
The introduction of the “Schülerticket Hessen WI15” on August 1, 2023 also provided significant growth momentum. With this ticket, all children and young people aged six to seventeen who are registered in Wiesbaden can use public transport throughout Hesse and in Mainz for 15 euros per month. Within ten weeks, the number of users rose by more than 50 percent compared to the previous “Schülerticket Hessen,” reaching a total of 17,150 subscribers. This trend continued in 2024. As a result, more than half of all eligible individuals are now using the offer. Around 8,100 of these subscriptions are for the socially discounted variant at ten euros per month.
Overall, the Deutschlandticket and Schülerticket led to a doubling of subscriptions at ESWE Verkehr from 2023 to 2024.
Financial security
Revenue compensation provided by the RMV as well as funding from the federal and state governments ensure economic stability. Additionally, social variants such as the Hessenpass mobil strengthen participation and acceptance.
The Deutschlandticket has modernized the fare structure, strengthened customer loyalty, and advanced the digitalization of ESWE Verkehr’s sales channels.
58.8 million passengers
In 2024, ESWE Verkehr increased its passenger numbers to 58.5 million (compared to 56.6 million the previous year). The Nerobergbahn achieved a record with approximately 308,000 passengers.
66,200 Ticket Subscribers
By the end of 2024, there were approximately 66,200 subscribers – about 30,000 more than the previous year. Around 26,000 of these were accounted for by the Germany Ticket (including Hessenpass mobil, Job Ticket, and app solutions).
12,519 million vehicle kilometers (TKm)
In 2024, the line services provided by ESWE Verkehr totaled more than 12.5 million vehicle kilometers. In 2023, approximately 11.5 million kilometers were achieved.
6,922 tons of CO₂ savings
Since the end of 2019, the electric vehicles have covered a total of approximately 14 million kilometers. Compared to diesel buses, around 6,922 tons of CO₂ were saved in 2024 (compared to 5,550 tons the previous year).
