Take the tram to the station and change to a rental car if the destination is difficult to reach by bus or train. Or when the weather is good and the distance is shorter, you can rent a bike. Such offers of flexible change between environmentally friendly means of transport are becoming more and more popular. In Dresden, too, there have long been opportunities to change trains at a number of junctions in the public transport network. But they are not immediately visible. That is about to change.
The city intends to put the first of a total of 76 planned mobility points into operation at Pirnaischer Platz on 21st of September. This year and next year, five more pilot locations are to follow at Bahnhof Mitte, Altpieschen, P+R Prohlis, Fetscherplatz and Wasaplatz. The main station and Bahnhof Neustadt are not included for the time being, as the necessary space is currently not available at the main station and there is “still a need for coordination” at Bahnhof Neustadt, said Stefan Szuggat, head of town planning. However, both locations appear in the list of 28 mobility points to be created in the next four years. Szuggat did not want to give a “forecast” as to when the entire network of 76 points would be linked.
The mobility points will be set up by a network of local partners consisting of the city administration, Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB) AG, Drewag, the car sharing provider Teilauto and SZ-Bike of the DDV media group.
Since Monday, four parking spaces for car-sharing cars, two of them electric, six fast loaders with a loading capacity of up to 150 kilowatts as well as parking spaces for rental bicycles have been built on Pirnaischer Platz in the vicinity of the tram and bus stops. The two existing charging points will be upgraded to a charging capacity of 50 kilowatts. According to the city, the total cost of the first mobility point amounts to around 145,000 euros. According to its Chief financial officer Andreas Hemmersbach, DVB is investing 80,000 euros, partly supported by the national climate protection initiative. A fast loader alone costs 25,000 euros, calculated Frank Brinkmann, Managing Director of Drewag GmbH. 24 of the 28 mobility points, which are in closer planning, will be equipped with fast loaders. By the end of 2020, a total of 206 charging points are to be connected to the network in public areas. Several funding applications have been submitted to the federal government for the development of the charging infrastructure.
However, the approval of the funding applications in Berlin has been delayed. This is also one reason why the concept of mobility points can be implemented more slowly than expected, emphasized Robert Franke, Head of Economic Development. The city council had already decided on this in November 2014. Subsequently, an operator concept was developed, cooperation partners sought and the legal basis created last year. The use of the mobility points and the electric shop will be free of charge.
The original article in German is available here.
