BSW on transport

The BSW wants to bring key mobility infrastructure back into public ownership and opposes any further breakup of the railway. Roads and rail are to be repaired faster, and the A14 highway completed quickly.

Important transport routes should belong to the state again. The railway should not be split up further. Roads and tracks should be repaired faster. The A14 highway should be finished soon.

The program attributes investment backlogs, poor maintenance, staff cuts and declining service to the partial privatization of Deutsche Bahn since 1994. The BSW backs a fully funded Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan, including the A14 and related projects. Construction and repair are to be sped up through performance-based contracting, binding construction schedules and on-time repairs. The focus is to be on maintaining existing infrastructure. Mid-sized centers are to be better connected, rural business parks better served by public transit, and remote work promoted.

The BSW rejects a blanket ban on combustion engines and what it sees as a forced transport transition. It says cars remain indispensable in many parts of the state; at the same time, charging infrastructure for electric cars is to be expanded.

The BSW is against a ban on gasoline and diesel cars. Many people in rural areas need a car. But there should be more charging stations for electric cars. Nobody should be forced to switch.

According to the program, mobility policy should follow people's actual living conditions. Electric mobility is expected to matter mainly in cities and densely populated areas. The car industry is to be supported in developing more efficient combustion engines, synthetic fuels and alternative drivetrains. CO₂ emissions are to be assessed over a vehicle's entire life cycle. Where realistic, buses and trains are to become more attractive alternatives.

The BSW wants reliable and affordable public transit with a unified fare system, including in rural areas. Schoolchildren and trainees are to ride free year-round, and the Deutschlandticket (nationwide transit pass) is to stay and become cheaper over time.

Buses and trains should be reliable and cheap. Schoolchildren and trainees should ride for free. The Deutschlandticket should stay and get cheaper. People with little money should get a low-cost social ticket.

Small, mid-sized and major centers are to be linked directly, with fixed schedules, express buses and rail lines, and a single ticket for rail, bus and on-demand buses. Tickets are to be available both digitally and on paper. Stations, stops and vehicles are to become accessible step by step. Tourist destinations are to be reachable by public transit. Everyday bike paths, bike-and-ride and park-and-ride are to be expanded, with repair of old connecting roads taking priority over paving new land. Car sharing, ride sharing and community buses are to be better linked with buses and trains.

In the long term, the BSW aims for publicly organized local transit that everyone can use free of charge. In view of demographic change, the party also wants to keep small rural elementary schools and better staff daycare centers.

In the long run, the BSW wants free buses and trains for everyone. Local transit should be in public hands. Small elementary schools in rural areas should stay. Daycare centers should have more staff per child.

The program describes mobility as a key to taking part in society. School transportation is to be regulated fairly across the state. Instead of closing facilities, the BSW wants better staff-to-child ratios in daycare centers, the continued existence of small elementary school sites and forward-looking school development planning.