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The installation of the charging infrastructure has been completed at the planned depot for electric buses operated by Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) in Treptow.
The company therefore celebrated the topping-out ceremony on the site with, among others, Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder, Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner, and Transport Senator Ute Bonde (all CDU).
The transport minister emphasized that the issue is also important from a federal policy perspective. "The advantages of electric mobility, particularly in the area of public transport and buses, are very easy to see: there is less noise, fewer emissions, a higher quality of life, and we are also doing something for climate protection," he emphasized.
The facility at Minna-Todenhagen-Brücke, which will cost around €120 million, is scheduled to go into operation in 2027 and is designed entirely for the supply of electric buses. It is equipped with charging technology as well as workshop and administrative facilities. According to the BVG, parking and charging facilities for around 220 electric buses, as well as a service hall and washing facilities, are being built on the Köpenicker Landstraße side of the river. Workshops and parking facilities for 32 additional vehicles are to be built on the other side of the river.
Construction of another depot for electric buses in Marienfelde began just this summer. This facility is also scheduled for completion in 2027. The infrastructure is needed for the extensive conversion of the BVG bus fleet to electric drives. "New infrastructure issues relating to IT will be tested there, because we will then convert and implement the systems at our other depots over the next ten years," said BVG CEO Henrik Falk. By 2027, around one-third of the 1,500-vehicle fleet is expected to be electric. The entire fleet is expected to be emission-free by the early 2030s.