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More than a thousand additional scheduled trips and four free shuttle lines are expected to massively increase local public transport in the Fulda city region during Hessentag 2026.
Fulda – The Hesse day will take place from June 12th to 21st; the expanded city bus offer is valid from June 12th to 22nd, according to the city of Fulda and RhönEnergie.
Hessentag in Fulda: Buses run more often and until late at night
As those responsible announced when presenting the concept, the frequency of the buses will be increased and the operating times will be significantly expanded – not only in the core city of Fulda, but also in the surrounding towns of the neighboring communities of Petersberg, Künzell and Neuhof. RhönEnergie provides over 1,000 additional trips in regular scheduled services alone, plus several thousand shuttle bus trips that connect visitor parking spaces with the Hessentag grounds.
Fulda's mayor Dr. Heiko Wingenfeld (CDU) spoke of an important component in the overall transport concept for the major event: “We are pleased that together we will be able to significantly improve the public transport offering for the people in our city region during the Hessentag.” The expansion of the offer and the additional shuttle lines are central elements of the traffic and parking concept. As Wingenfeld highlighted, the city of Fulda is financing the expansion of public transport services with the support of the municipalities of Petersberg, Künzell and Neuhof. At the same time, according to the statement, he expressly thanked Mayor Claudia Brandes (Petersberg), Mayor Timo Zentgraf (Künzell) and Mayor Heiko Stolz (Neuhof) as well as the respective committees.
RhönEnergie also underlines the importance of the expansion. “Fulda is the heart of Hesse for ten days,” explained Thomas Lang, managing director of RhönEnergie-Verkehrsbetriebe. As a regional company, it is natural and a special pleasure to “support this festival with all our strength”. The additional connections are intended to ensure that visitors can arrive and depart safely, comfortably and in an environmentally friendly manner – “this is our contribution to an unforgettable festival for the entire region and for all of Hesse,” says Lang.
For the transport companies, the Hessentag also means considerable organizational and logistical effort. According to RhönEnergie, many of the 370 bus drivers who normally travel in other parts of the region will support their colleagues in Fulda during Hessentag in order to manage the expanded offer.
This was the highlight of the press event Hessentag couple Vera and Max Dudyka for a first test drive on a shuttle route. On the trip, RhönEnergie bus driver Eleonora Aliajdaraj and RhönEnergie authorized representative Philipp Enders explained the route and the planned shuttle concept.
Bus services will be expanded across the entire city region for Hessentag
A central component of the package is the expansion of local transport connections throughout the city region. As the city announces, the city buses will run according to the peak hour network on all days from June 12th to 22nd. This serves all of Fulda's outlying districts as well as the connected districts in Petersberg (including Marbach), Künzell (including Engelhelms) and Neuhof-Giesel – including Istergiesel, Oberrode and Bernhards.
According to the information, lines 1 to 8 and line 15 run every half hour every day until 7 p.m. and then every hour until around 12:30 a.m. The last trips start between 11:50 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. from city center stops such as the Stadtschloss and the Central Bus Station (ZOB) towards the city and districts; the final stops are reached between 12:15 a.m. and 1 a.m.
A special feature applies to line 16 (Aueweiher – Stadtschloss – Lehnerz commercial area): It only runs until 8 p.m. every day. According to the city of Fulda, all stops on this line can still be reached after 8 p.m. – either via other city bus lines or additional Hessentag shuttle buses.
The shuttle service is organized independently during Hessentag. RhönEnergie is responsible for four Shuttle lines have been set up to connect the visitor parking spaces with the Hessentag grounds. At least twelve articulated buses are in use every day. According to the company, the shuttle buses run from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m., approximately every ten minutes, depending on demand. The offer is generally free of charge – both for Hessentag visitors and for citizens from the region.
To ease the burden on the city center, the municipality of Künzell would like to point out that there are numerous parking spaces available in the parking lots at the community center (Hahlweg 32-36). There it is possible to change to the RhönEnergie buses towards the city center, which, according to those responsible, should help to equalize the volume of traffic around the festival site.
