Berlin, the capital and largest city in Germany, has a very efficient, well-integrated public transportation system. When, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the city’s Eastern and Western sections were reunited and turned into one big metropolis again, the newly reunified city was left without a shared public transportation system.
After East and West had experienced decades of conflicting political, economic and cultural approaches to urban development, it was difficult for Berliners to travel between the former eastern and western parts of the city.
City planners went to work, and 12 years later the revamped S-Bahn network (elevated rail) was completed. Together with the U-Bahn (underground rail) the two systems form a ring around and crisscross the city center and provide the backbone of Berlin’s integrated public transportation system. The two systems share the same fare structure but have different operators. The S-Bahn is operated by the S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, and the U-Bahn is run by Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, the city’s public transit company. Trains, trams, buses and ferries connect to these two main public transportation systems and, of course, private cars, ferries, small cruise boats and bicycles co-exist.
Berlin’s Public Transportation System is frequent and affordable
The system is so comprehensive that private cars often become dispensable because car ownership and operation are expensive, parking opportunities scarce, and the use of private cars is restricted in the low-emission zone of central Berlin. Public transportation, on the other hand, is often the cheaper, quicker and more carbon-friendly alternative. Automobile-owning friends of mine often prefer to take public transportation to work and leave their car parked at the curb when they were lucky enough to find a parking spot close to home.
In contrast, the elevated rail runs every five minutes during peak hours and every ten minutes between peaks. The underground rail runs every two to five minutes during peak hours, every five minutes during the rest of the day and every ten minutes during evenings and on Sundays.
Berlin’s U-Bahn (underground rail) Buelowstrasse Station (elevated at this point) is part of the public transportation system. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2017. www.walled-in-berlin.com
The biking alternative
The city’s flat terrain is ideal for cycling. According to recent studies, there are 7 bikes for every 10 Berliners. Men, women, children and seniors seem to be equally comfortable riding bikes in the downtown. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlin-a-bikers-paradise/ Bike racks are everywhere making bike-parking a snap. Bikes are considered a mode of transportation more or less on par with cars and subject to most of the same traffic regulations. Cycling in the wrong direction, running a red light, hurting a pedestrian in the pedestrian zone, talking on a cell phone while cycling, and cycling while under the influence of alcohol are all fined.
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: Berlin, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, biking alternative, public transportation system, S-Bahn (elevated rail), S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, U-Bahn (underground rail)
