Hochbahn to set up infrastructure for e-buses in south Hamburg

15 August 2023

Depot upgraded, new repair shop planned - Hochbahn to focus increasingly on socially responsible e-bus procurement

Hamburger Hochbahn AG has announced plans Wednesday (August 9, 2023) to convert a depot south of the Elbe for e-buses and build a repair shop on a new plot of land. The first e-buses should be on roads in Hamburg's south by early 2024. Hochbahn will also focus increasingly on socially responsible bus procurement and sustainability. To this end, Hochbahn and Berlin's BVG have joined Electronics Watch's "Low Emission Vehicle Program".

New repair shop and e-charging depot

Siemens is to build 20 new charging stations for e-buses at the bus depot on Hannoversche Straße. Around 60 buses are stationed on site. E-buses will depart from there in future. Charging infrastructure via traverses is being created for this purpose. "We are taking a very lean approach here technically, which can be implemented quickly. We want to start trial operations at the end of the year," said Jens-Günter Lang, Hochbahn's Chief Technology Officer. The first e-buses will be in service next spring. The new repair shop on Stenzelring should service around 400 buses south of the Elbe in future. Until now, buses had to be sent to repair shops north of the Elbe for repairs and maintenance. The new repair shop in the south of Hamburg will go into operations before the end of the decade parallel to a new mobility hub being built 700 metres away on Veddel.

Hochbahn to procure e-buses sustainably in future

Social responsibility will be accounted for when purchasing e-buses in future. "Together with Electronics Watch, we are raising transparency in our e-buses' supply chains. We want to ensure that there are no emissions from our operations, and that workers' rights as well as occupational safety are respected," said Henrik Falk, CEO of Hochbahn. BVG and Hochbahn have joined Electronics Watch's Low Emission Vehicle Programme after launching the electric bus initiative in 2017. The Amsterdam-based non-governmental organization will advise both transport companies until 2025 initially. "We are taking the second step here," Falk added. Sustainable procurement should become standard in future.

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