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Verkehrsbetriebe Biel/Transports publics biennois

Logo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

The Verkehrsbetriebe Biel (in German) or Transports publics biennois (in French) is a public transport operator in and around the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne, in the Swiss canton of Bern. It operates the city's network of trolleybuses, motor buses, and funicular railways. It is also known by its respective initials as VB/Tpb.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

  • Industrytransport1
  • HeadquartersBiel/Bienne1
  • Websitewww.vb-tpb.ch
  • Legal formAnstalt des öffentlichen Rechts1

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VB01wiki
Photo: Benutzer Monbijouwiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

The Verkehrsbetriebe Biel (in German) or Transports publics biennois (in French) is a public transport operator in and around the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne, in the Swiss canton of Bern. It operates the city's network of trolleybuses, motor buses, and funicular railways. It is also known by its respective initials as VB/Tpb.2

The story

From 1877, Biel/Bienne was served by horse-drawn trams, operated by the Compagnie générale des tramways suisses of Geneva. In 1901, the City of Biel/Bienne took over operations and, over the following two years, converted the system to electric operation. The city's first buses operated in 1926, and the first trolleybuses in 1940. The last trams operated in 1948, when route 1 was converted to trolleybus operation.

In 2001, VB/Tpb was created as an independent company owned by the city. In 2014, it also took over the town's two funicular railways:

Biel/Bienne–Leubringen/Evilard

Biel/Bienne–Magglingen/Macolin

From Wikipedia’s article on Verkehrsbetriebe Biel/Transports publics biennois, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

The company operates two trolleybus lines, 11 motorbus lines and two funicular lines, with a total length of 175 kilometres (109 mi). Its fleet includes over 60 vehicles and it has 253 employees. It transports over 50,000 passengers per day.

From Wikipedia’s article on Verkehrsbetriebe Biel/Transports publics biennois, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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