Two double doors in the centre speed up passenger flows

The door arrangement of the city bus is also a departure from convention. Like the entire bus, it has been rethought. The usual doors facing the cockpit and behind the rear axle are omitted - instead passengers enter and leave the bus via two double-width doors between the axles.

These doors are marked with luminescent bands on the outside – green means entry, red means exit – to speed up passenger flows in the standing zone between the axles. This therefore becomes the "main traffic zone" in the city bus, as this is where the majority of passengers only covering short distances will congregate. At the same time this calms the other areas in the interior – a benefit for passengers spending longer on board.

An electronic ticket system makes the usual ticket control by the driver unnecessary. The ticket system is a major part of the vehicle's connectivity – the driver is able to concentrate on key activities rather than selling and checking tickets.

At the same time e-ticketing considerably speeds up passenger flows, which means shorter stopping times at bus stops and faster travel times, making travel by bus even more attractive for passengers. The design plus the completely reorganised passenger flows therefore have a positive overall influence on the bus as a transport system.

Corner pillars like a frame, innovative rear lights

The rear end also has a new design, with a basic paint finish in black. The panel on the left echoes the design of the front section. The corner pillars are formed like a frame, and suggest stability. Their lines flow into the panelling on the roof, sidewalls and rear end. The rear lights are likewise new. The strip between the rear lights indicates the driving mode: it lights up in blue during semi-automated driving, and in white during manual operation.

Design and function complement each other perfectly in the Mercedes-Benz Future Bus, and set new standards in this combination. But as unusual and exciting the design of the city bus may be, it is based on the Mercedes-Benz Citaro in the version with a vertical engine, of which many thousands of examples have proved their worth. The structural skeleton of the bus has remained practically untouched.