In May 2024, Kaiserslautern City Council approved a new local transport plan. The aim of the planners and politicians was to significantly expand local transport in Kaiserslautern. The new scheme will be launched in May, during the year marking the 750th anniversary of Kaiserslautern. Based on the city’s local transport plan, services will be expanded by around 10 per cent – equivalent to approximately 300,000 vehicle-kilometres – from 3 May 2026. SWK Verkehrs-AG will be responsible for implementing the plan as part of its contract with the City of Kaiserslautern. The municipal transport operator was only recently, in October 2025, awarded a further 15-year contract to provide transport services in the city.
Dr Arvid Blume, a member of the board, explains: “The launch of the new local transport concept and the completion of the new city centre are important steps for the future of our mobility in Kaiserslautern. Especially in the city’s anniversary year, this is a great sign for Kaiserslautern.”
“Preparations for the upcoming timetable change are in full swing. It is important to note that the timetables are not set in stone; we want to gather initial feedback and see if and where we need to make further adjustments. The implementation of further measures from the local transport plan is also still to come. However, funding must first be secured for this,” adds Boris Flesch, divisional manager at SWK Verkehrs-AG.
What’s changing for passengers | Route 101 will no longer run to Hohenecken. Service to this north-western district will be taken over by Route 111. It now runs at regular half-hourly intervals, alternating between the northern Burgherrenstraße route and the Unterwald route.
On route 102, from Monday to Friday between 7.30 am and 8.00 pm, the entire timetable will be shifted by 8 minutes. Departure times from the city centre will then be at 08, 23, 38 and 53 minutes past the hour. In conjunction with routes 105, 107 and 115, this will result in a 7.5-minute frequency between the city centre and the main station.
Routes on the Betzenberg will be harmonised, with the route via Barbarossastraße becoming more important. From the main station, buses will no longer travel via Richard-Wagner-Straße but via Rudolf-Breitscheid-Straße and Pfaffplatz to the stop at Schillerplatz. This will also improve the connection between the hospital and the main station.
Residents of Dansenberg have reason to be pleased: public transport services are set to improve significantly. Route 103 will still not run directly to the main station. “At the moment, there are still many reasons against it,” says Flesch. On Königstraße, the overlap with route 111 will result in a consistent 15-minute service during the day.
A new feature is the route via the university campus. Lines 105 and 107 turn right towards the city centre at Kammgarn and then stop at the new ‘Hochschule Mensa’ bus stop.
From there, the buses continue straight on via the new ‘Mühlstraße’ stop to the ‘Fackelbrunnen’. To enable this route, the road layout on Burgstraße, near the grammar school, was recently reconfigured and resurfaced. Only scheduled buses are now permitted to travel eastwards here, alongside cyclists.
The timetable change also brings a significant expansion of services for residents of Mölschbach. The service frequency is increasing by 27 per cent. From 3 May, route 106 will always travel via the main station and will formally terminate there during normal service hours. However, passengers wishing to travel to the city centre can remain on board: the bus continues as route 109 via Maxstraße to Otterberg. “This route link also brings operational synergies,” emphasises Flesch.
Route 117 is getting a completely new branch. The bus starts at Schillerplatz and continues via Hertelsbrunnenring to the PRE-Park. However, it no longer terminates at the main station as before, but now continues via Königstraße to the terminus at Bännjerrück.
The regional buses, which were diverted to Burgstraße during the construction work, will stop on Maxstraße again as before from 3 May.