The Company

Securing the future with sustainable mobility

Traffic jams, the eternal search for parking, and cars as far as the eye can see are just a foretaste of what will befall Berlin, the metropolis on the Spree River, when its level of cars reaches that of other major German cities. The alternative is public transportation which is both attractive and environmentally friendly. But it is not only our classic services which help preserve the famous "Berlin air".

Everyone knows:
The metro and tram systems keep down the level of exhaust. But the BVG bus fleet is considerably cleaner than required by environmental regulations. Our low-polluting and energy-saving driveline technology has made us a leader in environmentally friendly public transportation. BVG buses use only non-sulfur diesel fuel. Thanks to special catalytic converters (so-called CRT filters), the BVG already meets the emissions requirements that won't go into effect in Europe until a few years from now.

Increasingly important:
Peace and quiet lead to a sense of well-being, whereas loud traffic leads to stress and ill health. The BVG uses new rail technologies, so-called "whisper rails", sound absorbers, and other means on its metro and tram systems to further reduce noise levels.

Economic/environmental synergy:
The new acceleration program introduced in 2000 by the BVG and the Berlin Senate has generated faster travel times for the bus and tram, and fewer stops at traffic lights. Fewer carriages at the same intervals have reduced personnel costs, which means direct financial savings for the BVG. This also benefits the environment - a smaller number of carriages means lower fuel consumption levels, both of diesel fuel and electricity.

Environmental protection is also a priority behind the scenes at the garages, construction departments, and depots of the BVG. This starts with small items such as paper clips and erasers, and extends to disposal procedures for entire vehicles.

Facts and figures:
The BVG's garages have a total of nearly 90,000 washcloths in circulation. All of them are washed regularly, which means that one washcloth can be reused as many as seven times.

The BVG's 18 vehicle washing facilities are among its largest consumers of water. They used more than 351,500 cubic meters of water last year to keep the buses and trains clean. A good 50 to 80 percent of the water at our washing facilities is recycled.

Plant and root growth can represent a danger to the stability of our rail beds. But the BVG uses no herbicides whatsoever in areas designated for water run-off. It puts in the extra effort in those areas to remove weeds and undergrowth by hand.

Ballast for the rail beds is also reused. Last year the BVG strained and washed around 15,000 tons of ballast. All of the ballast used in standard rail beds was recycled.