[1] The system is operated by SWB Bus und Bahn, a subsidiary of Stadtwerke Bonn, and integrated in the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS).

In addition to the Stadtbahn, Bonn is served by three Straßenbahn (English: tram or streetcar) lines, covering 29.52 kilometres (18.34 mi) of route,[1] that remain in service.

The operator of this first tramway was the AG Rheinische-Westfälische Bahngesellschaft, which was founded on 19 November 1889 by the master builder Christian Havestadt and several banks in Berlin.

After the routes were sold to AG Rheinische-Westfälische Bahngesellschaft on 27 October 1899, a final extension of the horse-drawn tramway followed in 1903, when it was extended from the Poppelsdorfer Allee to Jagdweg in Endenich.

The steam operation in 1911 was revamped in three stages, and converted to a standard gauge electrified tramline; at the same time, the terminus was also relocated to Kaiserplatz in Bonn.

On 11 March 1898, the city obtained from the railway department in Cologne a concession for the construction and operation of a meter-gauge tramway.

In 1976, the federal government tried one last time to completely close Bonn's tramway, but failed due to, among other things, the resistance of the city's populace.

In 1986, an ornate Jugendstil tram depot in the city's north end was shut down for good, and stood empty until it was renovated and repurposed as an office building in 2000.

Because this new terminus had no turning loop, all the previously operating tramcars were taken out of service at this time, and replaced with bi-directional low-floor trams.