Punctuality in rail transport has mainly declined because of heavy utilization of the infrastructure as well as vehicle and infrastructure disruption.

Punctuality in bus services increased during the year under review with reasons including the increase in vehicle quality assurance activities and the introduction of central control centers across Germany for vehicle and personnel deployment.

Customer satisfaction on rail services declined, particularly on the Hamburg and Rhein-Main S-Bahn (metro) lines. Bus services maintained their satisfaction rating. To assess customer satisfaction, about 19,000 customers (rail) and 1,500 customers (bus) are asked each year about their satisfaction in two waves.

Performance development during the year under review was varied:

• Performance development in rail transport remained at the same level as the previous year. The positive development at the Berlin S-Bahn (metro) was offset by performance losses, among other factors.
• The bus sector was marked by a decline in performance development due to lost line bundles in particular.

The economic development of DB Regional is particularly affected by the development of the higher-revenue and higher-performance rail line of business (share of revenues: 89%). The adjusted EBITwas exclusively generated in the rail line of business. Development in the year under review was unsatisfactory overall. Despite a slight increase in revenues, the operating profit figures fell. Weak development in the bus line of business and the omission of the nuclear fuel tax reimbursement had negative effects on the operating profit.

• Revenues rose owing to an increase in the rail line of business due to pricing and performance factors. The performance-based decline in the development of the bus line of business countered this impact.
• Other operating income (– 7.5%) decreased due to the omission of the nuclear fuel tax reimbursement in the previous year.

Expenses recorded an increase:

• The cost of materials (+ 2.3%) was driven in particular by increased energy, infrastructure and rail replacement transport expenses. This was offset by lower maintenance expenses.
• Personnel expenses (+ 4.2%) rose as a result of collective bargaining agreements, among other things.
• Other operating expenses (+ 7.4%) rose as a result of increased vehicle leases and higher related services.
• The rail line of business drove a decline in depreciation (– 2.2%), among other factors, due to vehicles reaching the end of their useful life for accounting purposes.

Capital expenditures in both the bus and rail lines of business fell.

77% of employees are employed in the rail line of business, with 23% in the bus line of business. The number of employees increased slightly in both lines of business.

Employee satisfaction remained stable. The share of women remained at the same level as the previous year.

The specific traction energy consumption in rail transport continued to fall in the year under review, which was a result of increased efforts to save energy during journeys. There were still no consumption-reducing effects in diesel vehicles in the bus sector in the year under review due to delays in installing telematics systems – which promptly and accurately record fuel consumption – for technical reasons. The specific final energy consumption in the bus sector increased compared to 2006 due to changes in transport structures and different requirements for the bus fleets.