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| Company type | State-owned |
|---|---|
| Industry | passenger transport  |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Headquarters | Berlin ,Germany |
Area served | Berlin |
Key people | Henrik Falk (CEO) |
| Services | Public transport |
| Owner | State of Berlin (100%) |
Number of employees | 15,578 (as of 31 December 2023)[1] |
| Website | www |
TheBerliner Verkehrsbetriebe (German: 'Berlin Transport Company') is the main public transport company ofBerlin, the capital city ofGermany. It manages the city'sU-Bahn (underground),tram,bus, replacement services (EV) and ferry networks, but not theS-Bahn urban rail system.
The generally used abbreviation, BVG, has been retained from the company's original name,BerlinerVerkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft (Berlin Transportation Stock Company).[2][3] Subsequently, the company was renamedBerliner Verkehrs-Betriebe. During thedivision of Berlin, the BVG was split between BVG (Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe Gesellschaft inWest Berlin) and BVB (Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe inEast Berlin, also known as theVolkseigenes Kombinat Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, BVB). After reunification, the current formal name was adopted.
TheBerliner Verkehrs Aktiengesellschaft was formed in 1928, by the merger of theAllgemeine Berliner Omnibus AG (the operator of the city's buses), theGesellschaft für Elektrische Hoch- und Untergrundbahnen (the operator of the U-Bahn) and theBerliner Straßenbahn-Betriebs-GmbH (the operator of the city's trams). On 1 January 1938, the company was renamedBerliner Verkehrs-Betriebe, but the acronym BVG was retained.[4]
In 1933, the State Commissioner for Berlin, Julius Lippert, appointed theNSDAP politician and laterWaffen SS soldier Johannes Engel as head of the BVG Supervisory Board. The board of directors and most of the senior staff were dismissed or disempowered. DuringWorld War II, the BVG used some 4000forced laborers, for whom the company built its own barracks camp.[5]
From 1 August 1949, the BVG networks in West Berlin and East Berlin were operated separately. The two operators were originally known asBVG (West) andBVG (Ost), but from 1 January 1969 the eastern operator was renamed as theKombinat Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe or BVB. After the reunification of Berlin, the two operators were recombined into theBerliner Verkehrsbetriebe on 1 January 1992.
Prior to the division of Berlin, tram lines existed throughout the city, butBVG (West) abandoned all the tram lines in its part of the city, replacing them all by buses by 1967. HoweverBVG (Ost) retained its tram lines, and on the reunification of Berlin the BVG inherited a considerable network of routes in the eastern half of Berlin.
On 9 January 1984,BVG (West) took over the responsibility for operation of theS-Bahn services in West Berlin. This urban rail network had previously been operated in both halves of Berlin by theDeutsche Reichsbahn, the state rail operator ofEast Germany, but had been subject to aboycott in the west after the building of theBerlin Wall. With the reunification of Berlin, responsibility for theS-Bahn reverted toDeutsche Bahn AG (DBAG), the state rail operator of Germany. TheS-Bahn is currently managed by theS-Bahn Berlin GmbH, a subsidiary company of DBAG.[6]
BVG (West) also took part in the BerlinM-Bahn project, an urbanmaglev system, in the period between 1984 and 1992. The project used a section of theU-Bahn right of way that was out of service due to the building of the Berlin Wall, and was dropped with the fall of that wall.[7]
During the division of East Berlin, numbering were set as follows:
The BVG launched theMetroNetz on 12 December 2004 which remodeled the tram and bus network to create 24 tram and bus lines (with M prefix) covering parts of the city that weren't served byS-Bahn orU-Bahn.
In September 2019, BVG launched first in the world large scaleMobility as a service project "Jelbi"[8] together with a Lithuanian mobility startup Trafi.
| Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Brolat, FritzFritz Brolat | 1929 | 1931 |
| Lüdtke, ErnstErnst Lüdtke | 1929 | 1933 |
| Majerczik, WilhelmWilhelm Majerczik | 1929 | 1930 |
| Quarg, GotthardGotthard Quarg | 1929 | 1933 |
| Zangemeister, HermannHermann Zangemeister | 1929 | 1933 |
| Bennighoff, WilhelmWilhelm Bennighoff | 1933 | 1938 |
| Thomas, GeorgGeorg Thomas | 1933 | 1934 |
| Reschke, MaxMax Reschke | 1934 | 1937 |
| Lorenz, AlfredAlfred Lorenz | 1935 | 1938 |
| Ulmer, OttoOtto Ulmer | 1937 | 1945 |
| Mroß, MaxMax Mroß | 1939 | 1945 |
| Fink, FranzFranz Fink | 1939 | 1945 |
| Schneider, WalterWalter Schneider | 1945 | 1963 |
| Knapp, WilhelmWilhelm Knapp | 1945 | 1949 (Went toBVG-Ost) |
| Struwe, WalterWalter Struwe | 1945 | 1970 |
| Warnke, JohannesJohannes Warnke | 1945 | 1960 |
| Neubecker, FritzFritz Neubecker | 1947 | 1968 |
| Timm, RichardRichard Timm | 1952 | 1958 |
| König, KarlKarl König | 1960 | 1965 |
| Goltz, HeinzHeinz Goltz | 1971 | 1975 |
| Piefke, JoachimJoachim Piefke "Der Mann mit der Fliege" | 1971 | 1986 |
| Frank, BrunoBruno Frank | 1972 | 1982 |
| von Knoblauch, Hans-ErhardtHans-Erhardt von Knoblauch | 1977 | 1986 |
| Diedrich, WilliWilli Diedrich | 1980 | 1988 |
| Sachße, HarroHarro Sachße | 1983 | 1994 |
| Döpfer, HelmutHelmut Döpfer | 1986 | |
| Lorenzen, KonradKonrad Lorenzen | 1988 | 1994 |
| vorm Walde, RüdigerRüdiger vorm Walde | 1994 | 2001 |
| Graf von Arnim, AndreasAndreas Graf von Arnim | 2002 | 2005 |
| Sturmowski, AndreasAndreas Sturmowski | 2005 | 2010 |
| Nikutta, Sigrid EvelynSigrid Evelyn Nikutta | 2010 | 2019 |
| Kreienkamp, EvaEva Kreienkamp | 2020 |
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BVG operates theU-Bahn, an urbanrapid transit rail system. TheU-Bahn now comprises nine lines with 173 stations and a total length of 147 kilometres (91.3 mi). Trains run every two to five minutes during peak hours, every five minutes for the rest of the day and every ten minutes in the evening and on Sunday.[9][10]
U-Bahn service is provided by 1266 carriages, of which 500 are used on the earlier small-profile lines (U1 to U4) and 766 are used on the later large-profile lines. These cars travel 132 million km (83 million miles), carrying 400 million passengers, over the year.[9][10]
BVG operates a tram network comprising 22 tram lines with 377 stops and measuring 293.78 km (182.55 miles) in length. Of these, nine are designated as part of theMetroNetz, which provide a high frequency service in areas poorly served by theU-Bahn andS-Bahn. TheseMetroTram tram lines are recognisable by an M prefix to their route number, and are the only tram routes to operate 24 hours a day.[10]
Tram service is provided by 391 carriages, of which 154 are modern low floor carriages and 237 are older carriages. Virtually all of the remaining network is within the confines of the former East Berlin, as all the routes in the former West Berlin were abandoned during the period of the city's partition. However, there have been some extensions of routes across the former border since reunification, most remarkably to the city's new main railway stationBerlin Hauptbahnhof (lines M5, M8 and M10).[10]
BVG operates a network of 149 daytime bus routes serving 2634 stops and a total route length of 1,675 kilometres (1,041 mi), together with anight bus network of 63 bus routes serving 1508 stops and a total route length of 795 kilometres (494 mi). Seventeen of BVG's bus routes are designated as part of theMetroNetz, which provides a high frequency service in areas poorly served by theU-Bahn andS-Bahn. Like theMetroTram tram routes, theseMetroBus routes can be recognised by an M prefix to their route number. A further 13 BVG-operated bus routes are express routes with an X prefix to their route number.[10]
BVG bus service is provided by a fleet of 1349 buses, of which no fewer than 407 aredouble-decker buses. Whilst such buses are common in Ireland and the United Kingdom, their use elsewhere in Europe is extremely uncommon.[10]
Route 218 is partially operated by ex-BVG vintage vehicles now in preservation but used in revenue-earning service. The services depart fromTheodor-Heuss Platz every two hours from 11:15 to 19:15 and return fromPfaueninsel from 10:00 to 20:00.
Berlin has an extensive network of waterways within its city boundaries, including theHavel,Spree andDahme rivers, and many linked lakes and canals. These are crossed by six passenger ferry routes that are operated by the BVG.[11]
In 2021 a Petition was started against "discrimination and violence by security personnel in public transport" under thehashtag #BVGWeilWirUnsFürchten.[12] In the last decades there have been repeated uses of violence for seemingly racist reasons, as well as racist insults.[13][14][15][16]
The BVG is a member of theVerkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB), thetransport association run by public transport providers in the German states of Berlin andBrandenburg. This body provides a common fare structure that allows travel on various operators in and around Berlin.
All BVG services form part of the VBB's common public transport fare structure. This covers the city of Berlin and approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) beyond the city boundaries. The area is split into three zones. Zone A is the central parts of the city (inside theRingbahn), and zone B is the outer parts of Berlin City. Zone C covers an area beyond the city boundaries. Ticket fares have a slight price difference between these three zones. For instance in June 2010, a one-day ticket for zone A+B was priced at €6.10, a zone B+C one-day travel ticket was €6.30, and for all three zones A+B+C, the price was €6.50.[17][18]
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Thenavi is a monthly published overview of planned line deviations and changes due to construction measures or events. In addition, it offers alternatives to avoid them and informs about line and timetable adjustments. It is enclosed with thePLUS magazine. The first edition was published in August 2013.
PLUS is the monthly customer magazine of the BVG. The 40-page booklet is available in buses, trams and subway stations, among other places.
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BVG Beteiligungsholding GmbH & Co. KG (BBH) as the managing holding company has the task of managing the investment companies administratively and strategically and to provide commercial services for the affiliated companies as well as to carry out the investment management for the BVG. On the basis of BBH offers services in the areas of human resources, finance, accounting, controlling, IT and insurance. In addition, their 100% participations include cash pooling and profit transfer agreements. These include theBT,URBANIS andIOB.
BVG Beteiligungsholding Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH (BBV) manages BBH's business as a general partner exclusively.
Berlin Transport (BT)'s core business is to provide bus and subway services for the BVG. In addition, the company provides occasional travel services for both — the BVG and third parties.
The core business of URBANIS is the development and rental of commercial usable areas, especially in the area of Berlin subway stations.
The IOBInternationale Omnibusbahnhof-Betreibergesellschaft mbH (IOB) operates theZentraler Omnibusbahnhof Berlin (ZOB) in Berlin on behalf of the BVG. The core business of the IOB consists in the control of theintercity bus operations as well as the economic use of the real estate on the ZOB.
Projektrealisierungs GmbH U5 is a wholly owned subsidiary of BVG and was in charge of the closure of the gap in the
subway line in Berlin, in particular project management and controlling as well as project marketing for the BVG.
BVG-Fahrzeugfinanzierungsgesellschaft mbH (BVG-FFG) was founded on 1 January 2016 as a 100% subsidiary of the BVG. As a result of the organizational separation between the core business of the BVG and rail vehicle procurement, the assignment for financing and realization of vehicle procurement by the BVG-FFG. As part of financing the procurement of metro and tram vehicles, it is entitled to a comprehensive representation of the BVG and trades in the name and on account of the BVG. The tasks of the society include the admission of credits to financing the rail vehicle procurement of the BVG, the financing management and the provision of procurement finance and accounting services including controlling.
Media related toBerliner Verkehrsbetriebe at Wikimedia Commons
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