BERLIN TRANSPORT COMPANY BVG is now driving passengers emissions-free having received a fully electric Mercedes Benz eCitaro - the first of an order of 15, Daimler reports recently.
Head of Daimler Buses, Till Oberwörder, handed over the key of the first eCitaro to Dr Sigrid Nikutta, chair of the Board of Management and member of the Board for Operations at the Berlin transport company BVG.
Oberwörder said: “We are delighted that our eCitaro is now energising Berlin. With the locally emission-free eCitaro, the BVG has opened up a new chapter in the story of environmentally-friendly mobility. Of particular importance to me is the fact that we are also supporting our customer with tailored consultations and customised service packages as they gradually change over to electro-mobility.”
Dr Sigrid Nikutta said: “We are improving the quality of life in Berlin. At present we have about a billion passengers annually and two-thirds of them are already transported electrically in the metro, on overground trams and on our solar-powered ferries. These first few series-production buses mark the start of changing our bus fleet to environmentally friendly, electrically driven vehicles.”
MINISTERIAL SUPPORT
The presence of Svenja Schulze, Minister for the Environment; Andreas Scheuer, Minister for Transport; Regine Günther, Senator for the Environment, Traffic and Climate Protection in Berlin; and Ramona Pop, Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Companies in Berlin and chair of the Supervisory Board at BVG demonstrates the significance of the long-term changeover from combustion engines to locally emission-free drive systems for urban buses, says Daimler.
PERFECT MATCH
According to the company, the Mercedes-Benz eCitaro is ideally suited to the legendary Berlin air because it is locally emissions-free and almost silent. The fully electric eCitaro brings electro-mobility for city buses to, “…a whole new level because it impresses with optimum energy efficiency.”
“The basis for this is a unique thermal management with a heat pump for heating the passenger compartment, as well as temperature control for the battery and connected components.”
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Many of these have been made available for the first time in line with the advent of the eCitaro. Its exclusive design is derived from that of the popular Mercedes‑Benz Citaro and makes for a very distinct appearance – the eCitaro is a very special type of Citaro, according to Daimler.
ABOUT BVG
Berlin transport company BVG keeps the city on the move around the clock, it states. As Germany’s largest municipal transport company it operates more than 1400 buses on around 150 bus routes, more than 60 night bus routes and 22 tram, 10 underground and six ferry routes.
BVG employs almost 15,000 employees including those from its subsidiaries and transports more than one billion passengers annually.
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