The manufacturer drove the voluminous vehicle from the factory in the Netherlands to the BVG main depot in Weißensee, without stopping, around 670 kilometers. In Berlin’s traffic, with its stop-and-go, the Ebusco 2.2 electric buses will probably not cover such a distance continuously.
But at least 290 kilometers without having to be recharged, that’s what the producer of the new generation of BVG electric buses promises. One of these buses was officially presented on Friday, and a total of 89 should be rolling through the streets of the capital by the end of the year.
They complement the 139 electric buses that have been in operation since 2019. These vehicles have to go to a charging station after just 150 kilometers. The BVG has a total of 1,500 buses.
Rolf Erfurt, BVG Operations Director, called the purchase of this new generation of e-buses “another quantum leap”. Each bus alone costs around 500,000 euros. The total costs, including the new charging structure, are around 65 million euros.
The Federal Ministry of Transport and the state contribute a significant part of this sum. So that the new buses can be supplied with enough energy, around 70 new charging stations will be built across the city. So far, the vehicles have been refueling their electricity almost exclusively at the BVG main depot. There are 127 of the current 132 charging stations.
By 2030, all buses in Berlin should be powered by electricity. “Several hundred charging stations will then be required for this,” says Daniel Hesse, program manager for electrification at BVG.
The new buses will operate in the south and west, for example on lines M 46, 110, 112, 115, 170, 179, 186, 188, 246, 271 or 277. So far, there are no e-buses in these areas.
For Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), local public transport is an “indispensable part of climate protection measures”. By 2030, the federal government wants to have half of the 82,000 buses that are used in city and scheduled services nationwide converted to electric drives and will provide financial support for this project.
But not only the manufacturer of the Ebusco 2.2 has tested the maximum range of his vehicle. The BVG has also tested its previous e-buses to see how long they can drive non-stop under optimal conditions. Remarkable result: 41 hours.
