AfD on transport

The AfD treats free choice of transportation as a civil right and wants citizens to decide for themselves which type of engine to use. It rejects a general speed limit on the autobahn, a blanket 30 km/h limit in cities, and driving bans for diesel vehicles and motorcycles.

The AfD says everyone should choose freely how to travel. Everyone should also pick their own kind of engine. The AfD wants no general speed limit on the autobahn. It also wants no 30 km/h limit across whole cities. It rejects driving bans for diesel cars and motorcycles.

The platform expects the combustion engine to remain the main form of propulsion for private transport for decades because of its energy density. According to the AfD, a speed limit and 30 km/h zones do not meaningfully reduce accidents or pollutants. The party considers driving bans incompatible with a freedom-oriented transport policy. It supports fast bike routes along federal highways if costs match expected traffic, and wants coordinated planning to protect pedestrians from conflicts with cyclists.

The AfD calls for widening Hesse's main autobahns and quickly building planned federal roads and bypasses. It points to heavy traffic in Hesse as a transit state and to congestion, noise, and pollution in towns.

Very many cars and trucks drive through Hesse. The AfD wants to make the big highways wider. Federal roads should also be expanded quickly. New roads should go around towns. This should mean less traffic jams and noise.

The A3, A5, A7, and A45 would get six lanes, and in the Rhine-Main area the A3 and A5 would get eight. Projects for Hesse's federal roads listed in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan should be carried out swiftly. The party wants long-planned bypasses built without delay. Electronic guidance systems and traffic-light controls should also improve traffic flow in municipalities, and construction sites and full closures should be shortened.

The AfD opposes pushing cars out of city centers, which it says harms the economy. It rejects a congestion charge, wants lower parking fees, and wants to stop converting car lanes into bike lanes on main routes.

The AfD wants cars to keep driving into city centers. It is against a congestion charge. That is a fee for driving in the city. Parking should get cheaper. On big roads, car lanes should not be turned into bike lanes.

According to the platform, lower parking fees would support retail, restaurants, and other service businesses. The conversion of car lanes into bike lanes should end immediately on cities' main traffic routes. In individual cases, the AfD wants conversions that have already happened to be undone.

The AfD wants to ban heavy trucks from passing on two-lane autobahns during the day to reduce serious accidents. Rest stops and parking areas would also be expanded so drivers can take their required breaks.

Heavy trucks should not be allowed to pass during the day. This applies on highways with two lanes. This should mean fewer serious accidents. The AfD also wants to build more parking for trucks. Drivers should be able to take their breaks there.

The ban would apply to trucks over 7.5 metric tons from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Rest stops and parking areas along the autobahn would be expanded and newly built quickly, with dynamic parking management and electronic display boards. The AfD wants better overall management of truck freight. It expects truck traffic to keep growing because of online retail and overloaded rail lines.

The AfD wants to strengthen public transit to better connect rural regions with urban centers. Tracks, trains, bus networks, and on-call taxis would be expanded. Transit associations should cover at least half of their costs themselves.

The AfD wants more buses and trains. Trains should run more often. This needs more tracks and more trains. Rural areas should also get more buses and on-call taxis. Transit companies should earn half of their costs themselves.

Under the platform, closed rail lines could reopen if 20,000 daily passengers are assured and a rural region gains a better connection. For freight, the AfD considers a shift to rail unrealistic for years because of limited capacity and therefore calls for a major network expansion. It supports digitalizing rail operations, the Deutschlandtakt 2030 (a nationwide coordinated timetable), and the planned long-distance station in Frankfurt.

The AfD wants to strengthen Frankfurt Airport against other European hubs and quickly build out Terminal 3. It considers the existing night-flight ban a good compromise. It demands that the EU give Fraport and Lufthansa relief from levies under "Fit for 55."

The AfD wants to strengthen Frankfurt Airport. It should become more modern and bigger. The ban on night flights should stay. The EU plans new charges for air travel. The AfD wants the airport and Lufthansa to pay less.

The airport would become more attractive through more investment and better transport links. The night-flight ban runs from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. and, in the party's view, balances economic and environmental concerns. "Fit for 55" is the EU's climate package; the AfD puts the added burden on German aviation at 20 billion euros by 2035 and calls the planned taxes and levies excessive.

The AfD wants better transport links and communication networks in rural areas. Gaps in the highway network should be closed, federal roads expanded, and bus and rail better coordinated so that fewer people move to the cities.

The AfD wants to improve life in the countryside. Missing parts of highways should be built. Buses and trains should connect better. Internet and cell phone service should get better too.

The platform calls for modern broadband and mobile networks as the basis of a knowledge-based economy. Local and long-distance public transport should be better linked and timed. The AfD wants new options such as on-call taxis to be examined. Gaps in the highway network should be closed everywhere and federal roads widened as needed.