Despite all the logistical difficulties in getting to Berlin in view of a nationwide strike in the public transport sector, the electric bus conference of the Verbands Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen (Association of German Transport Companies – VDV) is currently taking place for the 14th time in Berlin, on 27 and 28 March 2023, jointly with the ElekBu trade fair. The event is fully booked and the number of participants is high. A comprehensive conference programme with a thematic focus on autonomous driving in public transport is being offered. As a further “highlight”, State Secretary Michael Theurer from the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport today handed over funding certificates for 59 public transport operators and thus around 1,033 more e-buses in Germany.
From 2021 until today, there were and are two so-called “calls” to apply for funding: In the first call, about 5,000 buses were applied for in a first batch – with 3,174 buses, approximately 63 percent were funded. In the second batch of the first call, about 3,700 buses were applied for – subsidised were about 1,200 to 1,400 buses and thus approximately 32 per cent. These funding certificates were handed over at the 13th VDV Electric Bus Conference last year. Now the second call is coming up, with the prospect of a third: “The federal government has announced that further funding rounds are planned for 2023 and 2024. We could then expect 500 more e-buses per funding call,” VDV Vice President Werner Overkamp explained to the press.
For all those not present, we offer a brief overview of the vehicles on display.
All photos by © Christian Marquordt
