Private company

üstra

Logo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

Public transport company in Hannover, Germany

üstra Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG is the operator of public transport in the city of Hanover, Germany. The company is a member of the Großraum-Verkehr Hannover (GVH) transport association. From 2003 to 2006, it had outsourced its operations, but officially resumed as a service provider on January 1, 2007.2 It employed 2,091 people in 2018.1 It is part of Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft Hannover.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1892Founded1
  • Industrytransport industry1
  • HeadquartersHanover1
  • Websitewww.uestra.de
  • Legal formAktiengesellschaft1
  • LEI391200ITLWZYBUEMVO553
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered addressAm Hohen Ufer 6, 30159 Hannover, Germany3
  • Registered withLocal Court Hannover, HRB 37913

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Uestra office building Goethestrasse Hanover Germany
Photo: ChristianSchd, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons6

üstra Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG is the operator of public transport in the city of Hanover, Germany. The company is a member of the Großraum-Verkehr Hannover (GVH) transport association.2

Corporate structure

üstra is part of a group headed by Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft Hannover. 8 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Üstra was originally the abbreviation for Überlandwerke und Straßenbahnen Hannover AG. The company also provided electricity to private customers as well as operating bus and tram services - not only in the city of Hannover but also to the outlying villages and small towns. This field was spun off in 1929 (becoming the HASTRA). In 1960, the company changed its name to Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe (ÜSTRA) AG, then to ÜSTRA Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG in 1980, changing the word üstra to lowercase in 1996.

The rural tram lines which were mostly singletrack brought coal (from Barsinghausen), milk and farm produce to the city but this business dwindled down with the motorisation in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 2001, ownership of the rail network, tunnels and stations of the Hanover Stadtbahn was transferred to Infrastrukturgesellschaft Region Hannover GmbH.

From Wikipedia’s article on Üstra, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Employees over time

üstra employees by year12.1K in 2018+4% since 2013
01.0K2.0K3.0K2013: 2.0K2.0K20132014: 2.0K2.0K2014+0%2015: 2.0K2.0K2015−0%2016: 2.1K2.1K2016+3%2017: 2.1K2.1K2017+0%2018: 2.1K2.1K2018+0%
  • 20182,0911
  • 20172,0881
  • 20162,0861
  • 20152,0241
  • 20142,0271
  • 20132,0181

Timeline

  1. 1892Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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