“Equipping our entire fleet of city utility vehicles was a huge feat that has paid off and has made Hamburg’s roads considerably safer, particularly for those travelling by bicycle,” Senator for the Interior Andy Grote says. The cost for retrofitting the vehicles runs to around 3.5 million euros in total, according to information from the city authorities. Most of the conversions were done in the fire services and in the city cleansing department. Christian Schwarz, head of the Hamburg Fire Services, said: “Particularly with urgent call-outs, the systems provide the drivers of our emergency vehicles with improved working safety.”
The intention now is for Hamburg’s transport companies to follow the conversion of the city truck fleet, Hamburg Transport Senator Anjes Tjarks said. The Hochbahn is accordingly to equip its bus fleet with bus-specific turning assistants by the end of the year. The VHH bus operator intends to follow by the end of 2023. Several private companies, including the hauliers Dachser, Zoder and Elkawe, recently joined the Senate initiative as well.
