Frankfurt am Main has surpassed 100 buses with locally emission-free drivetrains, with 109 of the city’s 418 buses now powered by batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. The latest addition is a group of nine battery-electric buses supplied by Dutch manufacturer Ebusco and operated by Transdev Rhein-Main (TDRM).
The new vehicles are being deployed on line 56, connecting Rödelheim, Sossenheim and Eschborn, as well as line 71, which serves Praunheim and the Nordweststadt district.
According to the city administration, locally emission-free buses now account for more than a quarter of Frankfurt’s public transport fleet, making it one of Germany’s largest electric bus fleets.
“With more than 100 e-buses, the transport transition in Frankfurt is visible to passengers and has become part of everyday life. The 100th electric bus symbolises the targeted transformation in Frankfurt’s bus services and the successful path the city has pursued since 2018,” said Transport Councillor Yannick Schwander.
Waste-to-Energy Plant Supplies Electricity for Buses
One distinctive feature of Frankfurt’s battery-electric bus operations is their use of electricity generated at the Heddernheim waste-to-energy plant (MHKW).
The facility is operated by Frankfurter Entsorgungs- und Service GmbH (FES) and energy supplier Mainova. It generates electricity partly through the incineration of household waste, which is then used to support the city’s electric bus operations.
TDRM Managing Director Wolf described the arrangement as a combination of waste management, energy production and public transport electrification.
“This unique collaboration in Germany links waste incineration, energy generation and locally emission-free mobility,” Wolf said.
FES Managing Director Dirk Remmert added: “Frankfurt demonstrates here how a city’s resources can be used efficiently while combining climate protection and public welfare.”
However, the term locally emission-free refers to the absence of exhaust emissions from the buses themselves, rather than emissions across the entire electricity-generation process. The waste-to-energy plant produces emissions through waste incineration, and its renewable energy share has recently stood at approximately 47%.
Consequently, Frankfurt’s electric buses are not powered exclusively by renewable electricity, distinguishing the city’s energy arrangement from operators that use 100% green electricity.
Fleet Electrification Planned Through 2033
Frankfurt’s city administration, TDRM and municipal bus operator In-der-City-Bus (ICB) aim to transition the entire municipal bus fleet to locally emission-free drivetrains by 2033.
The next expansion phase includes ten additional battery-electric solo buses for bus cluster B in western Frankfurt, scheduled to enter service from 2027.
For eastern Frankfurt, the city plans to procure 39 electric buses in 2028. Their deployment will be supported by a new facility, the Elektro-Busdepot Ost, which ICB is constructing on Flinschstraße in the Seckbach district.
From December 2028, smaller routes 25, 57, 81, 82, 83 and 85 are also scheduled to be consolidated into cluster H and operated entirely with electric buses.
New Depot Planned for Battery and Hydrogen Buses
ICB is also planning the Elektro-Busbetriebshof West on Lorscher Straße in Rödelheim to replace the existing Römerhof depot. The planned facility will provide parking and charging capacity for up to 200 battery-electric and hydrogen-powered buses.
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As an interim measure while the new depot is being developed, ICB has recently introduced 52 conventional diesel buses into service.
The depot projects and planned vehicle procurements form part of Frankfurt’s longer-term effort to expand locally emission-free public transport and complete the transition across its bus network by 2033.