Berlin: Does the state-owned vehicle fleet prevent the zero-emission zone?
On the way to a combustion-free zone within the S-Bahn ring, the police and fire brigade are also to be converted to green drives. But the Senate's plan is causing considerable difficulties.
Berlin's neighbourhoods within the Ringbahn are to be freed from petrol and diesel engines by 2030, according to the Green Party's plan for a future burner-free zone. Not only private or commercial vehicles would be affected by the ban on combustion engines, but also the state's own vehicle fleet. This is because it was agreed between the SPD, the Greens and the Left Party to achieve climate neutrality in transport on the urban area within the ring.
However, the capital's plans may be too ambitious. The current figures on the vehicle stock and corresponding drive types show that there is still a long way to go. The police and fire brigade in particular have to roll up their sleeves to prepare their fleets for the ban on internal combustion engines.
Berlin's police forces only have a total of 15 purely electric cars - two of which are hydrogen-powered. If the city wants to keep the current fleet size of 2813 vehicles, many new acquisitions will have to enter the fleet. So, too, must the pace of the changeover. Otherwise, it would be unrealistic to expect the previously planned delivery of 30 more e-cars by the end of 2023 to achieve the desired end result.
The situation is anything but rosy for the fire brigade. Here, too, climate-friendly vehicles represent only a fraction of the fleet; only 14 out of more than a thousand vehicles are emission-free. Similar to the police, the number should increase slightly by the end of 2023. However, no complete conversion of the ladder trucks and fire engines is planned for technical reasons. However, all smaller vehicles, such as cars and vans, will have to be replaced soon.
The phasing out of internal combustion vehicles is problematic for Berlin's vehicle fleet, not only because of the slow vehicle changeover, but also because of the high economic resources required for this. As is also the case with private e-mobility, the insufficient charging infrastructure remains a major obstacle. Hardly any charging facilities are available to the guards, namely 18 at the police and 7 at the fire brigade.
It is "right that Berlin is focusing on electric cars in the state-owned vehicle fleet", states FDP MP Tobias Bauschke. In the end, the entire transport sector should sooner or later adapt to the climate targets that have been set. For this to happen, however, the senate would have to decide on considerable additional investments and sufficiently expand the charging infrastructure on company premises - and city-wide. At the moment, the plans still seem far from successful implementation. How Berlin will deal with this in the coming years remains to be seen. It also remains to be seen whether the implementation of the zero-emission zone will be postponed until further notice due to the lack of zero-emission police and fire trucks, and not implemented in 2030. This is the prerequisite for banning private petrol and diesel vehicles within the S-Bahn ring.