Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen (VBSH) has announced plans to electrify the regional bus hub in Schaffhausen, marking the next phase in the city’s transition from diesel to battery-electric buses.
The project centres on the regional bus centre near Schaffhausen railway station, where construction of charging infrastructure is scheduled to begin on 2 March 2026.
The works are expected to last around 15 months, with commissioning and testing planned for mid-2027 and full operations anticipated in the third quarter of that year.
The electrification programme follows a December 2024 procurement contract for new electric vehicles, including the Mercedes eCitaro model. The rollout combines vehicle acquisition with the development of intermediate and overnight charging facilities.
Seven fast-charging points and an underground transformer station will be installed at the regional bus centre (RBZ), allowing buses to recharge via pantograph during scheduled stops. Additional overnight charging systems are planned for the Ebnatring depot to support daily operations.
Earlier infrastructure for electric city buses was introduced between 2020 and 2021 along Bahnhofstrasse, where fast-charging equipment and depot facilities were built as part of a wider street redevelopment completed in 2025.
As part of the reconstruction, boarding kerbs at the bus hub will be raised to 22 centimetres to enable level access. The redesign also includes tactile guidance surfaces, improved lighting and a sawtooth platform layout intended to assign fixed stops to individual routes and simplify wayfinding.
During construction, some bus bays will be temporarily unavailable, with affected services redirected to alternative stops while work is underway.
The transition to battery-electric buses is expected to contribute to lower carbon emissions and improved air quality in the region.
