Sustainability continues to be a firm focus for many event planners and providing delegates with planet-friendly methods of travelling is one of the many ways to deliver this. A new area of the city – HafenCity – offers hydrogen fuelled options.
There are also dedicated travel cards for delegates and free travel on bikes, scooters – and even skateboards – thanks to some of the city’s hotels.
Hydrogen power in HafenCity
A new district of Hamburg is devoted to sustainable mobility. HafenCity is one of the biggest urban development projects in Europe, due to be finalised around 2025, and has made huge sustainability strides. Visitors and residents alike can make the most of numerous bicycle paths, bike sharing stations, charging stations for electric vehicles, and a vast network of public footpaths linking the businesses and leisure areas.
HafenCity also has an extensive public transport system with the U-Bahn underground, several ferry stops, and a bus transport system entirely fuelled by hydrogen power. In fact, the city of Hamburg as set out not to procure zero-emission-buses from this year onwards.
Sustainability in Hamburg doesn’t stop at HafenCity. There are many other green ways for delegates to navigate the city.
Travel cards & tickets – for meetings & events:
- Hamburg CARD Green – Germany’s first sustainable city card – enables travel across the city’s many buses, trains & harbour ferries.
- Event Ticket from Deutsche Bahn offers delegates discounted – and environmentally friendly – travel. All DB services run on 100% renewable power making it the largest user of renewable power in Germany today.
- The HVV KombiTicket gives meeting and event delegates heavily discounted travel between their event location and hotel – the ticket also includes a boat trip on the city’s ferries. Offered by the Hamburg Convention Bureau and the Hamburg Transport Association (HVV), the HVV KombiTicket is available for events with 250 or more participants.
- Conferences and events with a lower number of participants can benefit from the Hamburg CARD which provides free travel by bus, S-Bahn (suburban railway) and port ferry as well as a 50% discount at more than 150 tourist attractions across the city – from museums and guided tours to boat trips.
Rotary International Convention – 26,000 attendees offered free travel in Hamburg
These schemes have already been well received by event planners. The organisers of the Rotary International Convention which was held in the city last year ensured that each attendees’ ticket also included free travel on public transport. That’s more than 26,000 attendees from 170 different countries (representing 3,605 rotary clubs) all receiving sustainable travel options.
A world first: VW launches first ride pool service in Hamburg
Hamburg is the first city in which the Volkswagen Group has launched MOIA, the ride pooling service. An initial run of 100 environmentally friendly electric cars are available and customers can book the service via a smartphone app. The concept, launched in Hamburg in April last year, is based on the principle of ride pooling, where a journey is shared with other customers travelling in a similar direction. An algorithm collates the journey requests, ensuring that the vehicles are used to optimum capacity and that customers do not have to wait for other passengers.
Hamburg based fleet transport provider AMS offers an 100% climate-neutral service and one that the company calculates has saved 369.181,30 kilograms CO2 to date.
Sustainable – and surprising
Hotels in Hamburg also offer their guests sustainable – and sometimes surprising – ways to get around the city. Many hotels offer guests bicycle hire and one hotel has even extended its free hire service to include e-bikes, scooters and skateboards!
Florian Gerdes, Marketing Manager Conventions at Hamburg Convention Bureau, explains: “Sustainability is important for business event professionals and Hamburg has some really efficient and innovative ways to offer environmentally-friendly travel for delegates and business travellers in the city.”
@claireville