The Bus is heading beyond the streets of Berlin as two new DLC packs arrive today, giving Xbox Series X|S players a new German city to explore and a modern electric vehicle to add to their fleet.
The Hamburg City Expansion and Ebus 2.2 DLC are both available now, offering rather different ways to extend the bus simulation.
While Hamburg City significantly broadens the game’s map with a detailed recreation of the Hanseatic city, Ebus 2.2 focuses on the vehicle itself, introducing a highly configurable electric bus in several forms.
At A Glance
- Hamburg City: £24.99
- Ebus 2.2: £12.49
- New location: Hamburg
- Hamburg routes: Five playable bus lines
- New vehicle: Ebus 2.2
- Ebus variants: Four configurations
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
- Developer: TML-Studios
- Publisher: Aerosoft
Take The Bus To Hamburg
The biggest addition of the two is undoubtedly Hamburg City, which takes The Bus away from its existing Berlin setting and into another of Germany’s major cities.
Five bus lines – 6, 7, 17, 218 and 277 – take drivers through a mixture of historic districts, residential neighbourhoods and commercial areas. The routes also pass some recognisable Hamburg landmarks, including Speicherstadt, Hamburg Central Station and Millerntor Stadium.
There is plenty to keep drivers occupied, too. The expansion features more than 55 bus stops and over 120 stop positions, with individual routes taking up to 66 minutes to complete. A night service on line 617 adds another option for those wanting to see the city after dark.
A Detailed New City
Hamburg has been built with more than 750 unique and customised objects and buildings, while traffic and public transport help make the city feel considerably busier than a collection of static streets.
Underground and suburban trains, regional rail services, ferries, pedestrians and AI traffic all play their part, while two depots provide additional operational options. The expansion also includes economic mode support and a Hochbahn bus mod with a customised interior and livery.
It’s a substantial change of scenery for anyone who has spent plenty of time working the streets of Berlin.
A New Electric Addition
For those more interested in what’s parked outside the depot, the Ebus 2.2 DLC adds a fully electric city bus in four different configurations.
Players can choose between 12-metre solo and 18-metre articulated versions, with two- and three-door options available depending on the model. That gives the Ebus 2.2 enough flexibility to handle everything from shorter services to busy routes carrying much larger numbers of passengers.
The buses can carry up to 150 passengers and feature configurable interiors and exteriors. There are also modern touches such as digital MirrorEye cameras, CornerEye cameras, LED lighting, air conditioning, electric heating and a heat pump. And charging is handled through a CCS connector, rounding out a vehicle that feels markedly different from the conventional buses already available in The Bus.
Two More Reasons to Hit the Road
The two DLC packs approach The Bus from different directions, but together they make a pretty decent addition for regular drivers. Hamburg provides an entirely new environment and a sizeable collection of routes to learn, while the Ebus 2.2 gives those routes another vehicle to tackle them with.
We gave The Bus 3.5/5 in our review, praising its impressive recreation of Berlin and the depth offered by its Economy mode, although we noted some frustrations with the controls and UI. We also felt the missing console multiplayer was a shame compared with the PC version.
For existing players, Hamburg City in particular could be the excuse needed to climb back behind the wheel. Berlin may have been the starting point, but The Bus now has another city waiting on the timetable.
