In-der-City-Bus GmbH

What In-der-City-Bus GmbH does

In-der-City-Bus GmbH (ICB) is the municipal bus operator of Frankfurt am Main, providing scheduled public bus transportation on 34 lines that cover more than half of the city's bus traffic. Founded in 1992 and since 2014 a 100% subsidiary of Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main Holding GmbH, ICB runs a fleet of approximately 220 buses - including 32 hydrogen and 16 battery-electric vehicles (48 E-buses total) - on a 100% low-floor configuration, operating around the clock, 365 days per year, and covering roughly 10 million kilometers annually with a workforce of about 750 employees. ICB pioneered alternative propulsion in Hessen: it electrified the first complete bus line in Hesse in 2018, introduced Frankfurt's first hydrogen buses in 2022, and commissioned its own on-site hydrogen refueling station - the largest in Hessen - in 2024, with a stated goal of full fleet conversion to alternative drives by the early 2030s.

The company's core service is public bus transportation under the RMV (Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund) tariff framework, with revenue drawn from passenger fares and public subsidies provided by the City of Frankfurt, the State of Hessen and the federal government. Technology investment centers on Solaris Urbino 12 and 18 hydrogen buses (100 kW PEM fuel cell, ~350 km range, ~400 kg on-site H2 storage) and Irizar ie18 articulated battery-electric buses (~200 km overnight-charged range), supported by safety and customer-experience features such as driver separation screens, camera-mirror systems and a pilot front-camera system for documenting bus-lane violations.

Beyond transit operations, ICB generates ancillary value through in-house vocational training (Berufskraftfahrer, Kfz-Mechatroniker and Fachlagerist apprenticeships), permanent bus-driver employment (minimum EUR 40,000 annual salary) and internal workshop services maintaining diesel, battery and hydrogen vehicles. Strategic positioning is anchored to Frankfurt's Masterplan 100% Klimaschutz (climate neutral by 2035), with two new state-of-the-art depots planned by 2028 to accommodate more than 250 electric buses.

Name

In-der-City-Bus GmbH

Legal name

In-der-City-Bus GmbH

Website

https://icb-ffm.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

In-der-City-Bus GmbH operates Frankfurt am Main's municipal public bus network across 34 lines with roughly 220 buses (including hydrogen and battery-electric vehicles), serving city residents and visitors with around-the-clock service while also training bus drivers and vehicle technicians.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Bus Transportation

NAICS

Bus and Other Motor Vehicle Transit Systems (485113)

SIC

Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100)

akta.pro primary industry

Electric Bus Network Operators (THAIAEAE)

Keywords

• Public bus transit
• Municipal transportation
• Urban mobility services
• Electric bus fleet
• Hydrogen bus operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt am Main

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Public Transport Fare Revenue: Revenue from public transport fares collected from passengers using ICB bus services on 34 lines across Frankfurt.
2. Public Transport Subsidies: Government subsidies and funding from the city of Frankfurt, state of Hessen, and federal government for public transit operations and fleet modernization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

In-der-City-Bus GmbH (ICB) operates municipal public bus transportation services in Frankfurt am Main across 34 bus lines with a fleet of approximately 220 buses, of which 48 are zero-emission vehicles (32 hydrogen fuel cell and 16 battery-electric). Services operate 365 days per year, covering around 10 million kilometers annually. ICB also provides in-house vocational training for bus drivers, commercial vehicle mechatronics technicians, and warehouse logistics personnel, plus its own vehicle maintenance workshops.

Product overview

In-der-City-Bus GmbH (ICB) is a municipal bus company providing public transportation in Frankfurt am Main. The company operates a core bus transportation service across 34 lines with approximately 220 buses, including an increasingly electrified fleet of hydrogen and battery-electric buses. Supporting the core transit service, ICB offers vocational training programs for bus drivers, vehicle mechatronics, and warehouse logistics, as well as employment for qualified bus drivers and vehicle maintenance technicians. The company also operates its own hydrogen refueling infrastructure - the largest in Hesse. The fleet transition plan targets complete electrification by the early 2030s.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public Bus Transportation Services
• Hydrogen Bus Fleet (Solaris Urbino hydrogen)
• Battery Electric Bus Fleet (Irizar ie18)
• ICB Hydrogen Refueling Station
• Vocational Training: Bus Driver (Berufskraftfahrer:in)
• Vocational Training: Commercial Vehicle Mechatronics (Kfz-Mechatroniker:in)
• Vocational Training: Warehouse Logistics (Fachlagerist:in)
• Bus Driver Employment
• Vehicle Maintenance Services (Kfz-Mechatroniker)

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main Holding GmbH (SWFH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014100% subsidiary of Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main Holding GmbH since 2014. ICB operates as the municipal bus company under this parent organization, part of the city's public utilities group.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe (LVB): Leipzig's municipal transit subsidiary of the city's Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft. Direct peer operating urban bus and tram networks under similar municipal utility ownership with comparable scale and electrification timelines.
• Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (KVB): Cologne's municipal transit operator running bus, tram, and Stadtbahn as a subsidiary of Stadtwerke Köln. Direct peer with comparable operational model, municipal ownership, and German electric-bus rollout ambitions.
• Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG): Berlin's municipal public transit operator providing bus, tram, metro, and ferry services. Direct peer: a major German municipal transit company with publicly funded operations, ongoing fleet electrification programs, and a similar city-level franchise structure to ICB.
• Hamburger Hochbahn AG: Hamburg's municipal transit operator and one of the largest in northern Germany. Direct peer: city-owned, multi-modal operator with comparable scale to ICB but extending into metro/ferry, and similarly pursuing bus fleet decarbonization.
• ÜSTRA Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe: Hanover's municipal transport operator under Stadtwerke Hannover. Comparable to ICB as a city-owned bus and tram operator in a mid-sized German metropolitan area pursuing electric-bus fleet transitions.
• Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG): Munich's municipal transport subsidiary under Stadtwerke München. Direct peer operating bus, tram, and metro under municipal ownership with parallel zero-emission bus commitments and large-scale urban service mandate.
• Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen (SSB): Stuttgart's municipal transit company operating bus, tram, and light rail as a wholly-owned Stadtwerke subsidiary. Direct peer in scale, ownership structure, fleet-renewal programs, and punctuality-driven service contracts.
• Regionalverkehr Köln (RVK): Regional and urban bus operator in the Cologne metropolitan area and notably among Germany's earliest adopters of hydrogen fuel cell buses. Highly comparable to ICB on the specific hydrogen/battery-electric public-bus focus.

Regional players

• ESWE Verkehrsgesellschaft Wiesbaden: Wiesbaden's municipal bus operator and the most direct Hessen state peer to ICB. Comparable in size and municipal ownership structure; both participate in the same regional Hessian transit policy framework (LHO, LEA Hessen initiatives).

Others

• traffiQ GmbH: Frankfurt's local public transport authority under the City of Frankfurt. Not a transit operator but an adjacent ecosystem participant that commissions and contracts services to ICB under the Frankfurt Local Transport Plan and awards the Frankfurter Buspreis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/in-der-city-bus-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about In-der-City-Bus GmbH