BerlKönig

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BerlKönig is a ridesharing service based on the principle of shared call taxis in local public transport in Berlin , which has been operated independently by the Berlin transport company in cooperation with the start-up company ViaVan since September 2018 . It is operated for four years after a special permit from the Berlin Transport Senate in accordance with the experimentation clause in Section 2 (7) of the Passenger Transport Act .

business

BerlKönig

The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe and the startup ViaVan started operating the BerlKönig in September 2018 after the partners submitted the application for approval in November 2017. The ride-sharing service, comparable to a shared call taxi , is not a taxi offer or a door-to-door service; the operators do not see themselves as competition to taxis, but as an extension of local public transport . You are using an experimentation clause in Section 2, Paragraph 7 of the Passenger Transport Act (PBefG), which allows the practical testing of new modes of transport or temporary means of transport , such as this atypical bus service with stops . There are no contractual regulations with the state of Berlin for the operation, it is an independent commercial offer of the state company. Despite the self-assessment of the operators, Berlin taxi drivers feel economically threatened by the BerlKönig.

Operation was initially started with 40 battery-electric B-class vehicles ( B 250 e ) from Mercedes-Benz , each with four passenger seats, and ten diesel minibuses from the same manufacturer, each with six seats ( V-class ). In the meantime, from a pool of 132 vehicles (as of April 2019), around 70%, i.e. H. around 90 vehicles on the go. These are booked for around 2000 journeys per day via the app .

Around 700,000 passengers have been transported since the start in September 2018, said the Berlin Via Van boss Valerie von der Tann. Half of the trips by different passengers were bundled, the average price was just under six euros.

The fare for using the BerlKönig is made up of the following components and is specified to the customer when booking: A price of 1.50 euros is to be paid per kilometer (according to the previously calculated, time-optimized route). A minimum price of 4 euros must also be paid for distances of less than three km. At peak times, a surcharge of 25% of the total fare has to be paid. Peak hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. If a passenger books a journey for several people at the same time, each passenger receives a discount of 50% on the fare within the booking.

Berlkönig employs 390 drivers in Berlin, around a third in mini jobs .

BerlKönig BC

As part of a project funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital, the BVG has been testing a service called "BerlKönig BC" since August 2019. Initially, minibuses, operated by the Berlin Taxi Guild, commute between the Rudow underground station and Schulzendorf in Brandenburg . Further connections between tariff zones B and C are to follow, including a route in Berlin.

In contrast to the regular BerlKönig service, which is paid according to the principle of a tiered kilometer price that depends on the time of day, the BerlKönig BC service requires a VBB ticket for the Berlin B and C tariff zones and a nominal fee of 50 cents. The service is operated with three Mercedes-Benz Sprinter City minibuses, which normally run on BVG lines at night. The service does not have a timetable, but runs after pre-booking through the BVG app, initially between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The start or finish is always the Rudow underground station, journeys within Schulzendorf or Zeuthen are not possible.

operation area

The regular BerlKönig service is deployed within the eastern S-Bahn ring as well as in the so-called composers' quarter in Weissensee , the area around Michelangelostraße and a strip that extends from northern Prenzlauer Berg and Gesundbrunnen to Bornholmer Straße . This also includes Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Mitte . Around 5000 boarding points have been defined in the area, a little over 600 at normal bus stops , the rest are so-called "virtual stops", mostly at intersections.

The trial run of "BerlKönig BC", which started in August 2019, commutes between the Rudow underground station and the neighboring community of Schulzendorf.

Planning and expansion

In mid-2019, BVG announced that it wanted to convert its fleet of 150 vehicles back then to 100 percent fully electric vans by the end of 2020; it should then consist of vehicles of the Mercedes eVito Tourer type .

In the meantime, it is planned to expand the test operation to 300 vehicles on the one hand and to the entire area within the Berlin S-Bahn ring and the Weissensee and Lichtenberg districts . The move received criticism because the planned expansion of the taxi business and also the existing public transport more and more attacked, has meanwhile led to a 15% drop in turnover for taxi companies and the Berlkönig test operation at the end of the four-year test phase was no longer due to the scope of operations then achieved is easily possible.

With the appropriate acceptance of the pilot project, up to 300 vehicles could later drive, which would correspond to a six-fold increase in the original vehicle fleet.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Written request from MP Henner Schmidt (FDP), printed matter 18/13 834. (PDF) Berlin House of Representatives, April 3, 2018, accessed on August 11, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Written request from MP Stefan Ziller (GRÜNE), printed matter 18/13 441. (PDF) Berlin House of Representatives, February 20, 2019, accessed on August 11, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Berlin taxi drivers feel threatened by Berlkönig. In: Inforadio. RBB, February 4, 2019, accessed August 3, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b Written question from MP Tino Schopf (SPD), printed matter 18/18077. (PDF) Berlin House of Representatives, March 18, 2019, accessed on August 11, 2019 .
  5. ↑ 2000 trips per day with Berlkönig shared taxis. In: Berlin.de. March 29, 2019, accessed August 3, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Berlkönig is going fully electric. In: Tagesspiegel.de. July 3, 2019, accessed August 11, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Written inquiry from MP Frank Scholtysek (AfD), printed matter 18/16186. (PDF) Berlin House of Representatives, September 16, 2018, accessed on August 11, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Jörn Hasselmann: A Brandenburg village gets a “Berlkönig” bus. In: Tagesspiegel.de. August 2, 2019, accessed August 3, 2019 .
  9. ↑ a b Peter Neumann: Digitaler Rufbus: Now the Berlkönig of the BVG also drives from Berlin to the surrounding area. In: Berliner Zeitung. August 2, 2019, accessed on August 11, 2019 (German).
  10. ↑ Christian Gehrke: Berlkönig - BVG plans to expand shuttle service to the entire S-Bahn-Ring. In: Berliner Zeitung . April 3, 2019, accessed August 3, 2019 .
  11. ↑ "Berlkönig is cannibalization of public transport". In: Abendschau. RBB, March 10, 2019, accessed on August 3, 2019 .
  12. ^ Nicolas Šustr: BVG shared taxi service started - BerlKönig competes with taxis and buses. In: New Germany . September 9, 2018, accessed August 3, 2019 .