Why The Berlin Government Operates A Tiny Rowboat

Berlin boasts one of the world's greatest, most extensive public transportation networks on the planet, encompassing underground systems, train lines and more buses than you can shake a stick at. And it's all owned and operated by BVG, a transit company that answers to the local Berlin government.
But in the far east of the city, BVG also owns and operates the F24, a fibreglass rowboat which crosses a tiny river in less than a minute, rowed by a local captain. Why would an organisation as mighty as the BVG waste its time with such a small boat? The answer may surprise you...
Correction:
3:17 This is incorrect - BVG and the F24 are beholden to the *state government of Berlin*, not the federal government or transport ministry. My bad!
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Welcome to What On Earth Is This?, a UA-cam channel featuring strange and quirky things from around the world that you may not have heard of.
Think abandoned engineering marvels, weird funiculars, transit oddities and other bits of history you never wanted to know about... until now.
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Follow me on IG at @WhatOnEarthIsThis

[@NeoDerGrose]

When visiting one should also take the F23. It's a really pleasant ride on an electric boat, also included in the public transport network. It's my favorite ferry line in Berlin.

[@RevCode]

I am sure you meant the public transport system - an electric boat (maybe in silver?) riding the pubic transport system sounds a bit like.. well, I will let your imagination figure it out :)

[@NeoDerGrose]

@@RevCode 😄

[@m_lies]

BVG was once "Berliner Verkehrs-AktienGesellschaft" before it renamed in the 90s so the G was once geselschaft

[@WhatOnEarthIsThisThing]

@@m_lies interesting! I genuinely couldn't figure it out 😅

[@m_lies]

@@WhatOnEarthIsThisThing The English wiki to BVG is short, but the German Wiki has the history in more detail.

[@xaverlustig3581]

The renaming happened in 1938

[@m_lies]

@@xaverlustig3581 the way i read it is that in east berlin it was BVB and west it was BVG and with the German reunification they Renamed it.

[@yetzt]

Well, there also was a BVB in East Berlin. An nowadays there is also the VBB, which BVG is part of.

[@contentedbuddha]

Thank you for this informational and entertaining short video, it reminds me of The Tim Traveler, you even got comments nitpicking about unimportant stuff 😅

[@WhatOnEarthIsThisThing]

Thank you! Tim is actually my main inspiration so I'm glad to hear it!

[@TheGeneralMotor]

Don't ask what happened to Paule I and II

[@erni_fx]

I'm so lucky the UA-cam-Algorithm™ decided to bless me with a informative and entertaining video about my hometown........then I saw the view- and subscriber count!
LIKE DAAAAMN, you definitely deserve WAAY MOORE of these two things.
Keep your head high and please don't stop making videos!!! 🔥🔥🔥

[@brufflingel]

How do you only have 231 Subscribers?!?! That was such a fun video about a topic that I didn't know I NEEDED to know more about.

[@antonia8382]

It’s extremely important to note the ferry currently only runs in the summer and early fall. This year it ran between May 1 and October 6th. (And only Sundays and Saturdays between 11 am and 7 pm). So if you want to visit you’ll have to wait until next summer. But the fish smokery is totally worth it as a nice summer outing.

[@BenCoolPlays27]

Your videos are great! Keep going!!

[@TwoToneTuna]

It's a very pleasant little ferry. You can take your bike on too!
It's not the middle of nowhere. Well it wasn't at the time. Erkner which is just a hit further east is apparently where bakerlite plastic was invented. It used to be much more industrial then it is now.

[@WolframSCHROEDER]

Great report. I love it.

[@zorktxandnand3774]

2:22 subtle 😂

[@BazillaAFCilikepie]

Thanks for sharing! Super interesting

[@aixtom979]

Forget Poland, according to the map you are nearly to New Zealand. ;-)

[@hape3862]

The Algorithm presented me with this video and I happily liked, subscribed and hit the notification bell!

[@WhatOnEarthIsThisThing]

@hape3862 thank you! More on the way!

[@klaasvanmanen8214]

2:51 BVG = Berliner Verkehrsaktien-Gesellschaft. An 'Aktiengesellschaft' is called a 'Public Limited Company' in the UK, or just 'Corporation' in the US. There you have the explanation of the 'G'.

[@cwcoc170]

funny that i (a native Berliner) learn about this from a british guy. nice video

[@WhatOnEarthIsThisThing]

@@cwcoc170 Danke!

[@MrAndrewlang]

Fantastic work!

[@yetzt]

Well, this is an instant subscribe. Let me know if you want to know more Berlin public transport anomalies.

[@felixw19]

The channel seems interesting. Let's see if yiu can continue to make videos like this

[@elliotchapman-jones9908]

Super interesting and very funny. More please!

[@JimHxn]

2:35 ｇｒａｐｈｉｃｄｅｓｉｇｎ

[@WhatOnEarthIsThisThing]

it is my passion

[@Hollaraedulioe]

6:14 BVG because it was originally founded a Berliner-Verkehrs-Aktien-Gesellschaft.

[@peterstadlmaier3107]

Seems to be more relieable then the Deutsche Bahn.

[@bernd_das_brot6911]

Awesome video lol lovely

[@apacheglider]

romantic !

[@jpro6413]

Thx (comment for algorithm ;-)

[@perplexedperspective]

Liked, Subscribed, Bell Rang?!

[@JensFrank]

Yes, I did.

[@jpro6413]

Ofc