BSW on transport

The BSW wants more funding and a master plan for public transit so that buses and trains run on time and regularly, especially in rural areas. Regional rail is to be expanded, with a regional S-Bahn along Thuringia's chain of cities. A "Thüringen Ticket Sozial" would offer a discount on the Deutschlandticket (national transit pass) for low-income residents, school pupils and university students.

Buses and trains should run more often and on time. This matters most in the countryside. There should be more money and a big plan for this. A commuter train should link the larger cities. People with little money should get a cheaper ticket.

In rural areas, buses and trains should run at least hourly or be supplemented by on-demand services, which requires new agreements between the state and counties. Disused rail lines are to be reactivated for freight and passengers via the federal transport infrastructure plan, and links to neighboring states improved. A state program would fund dial-a-ride and community buses, along with car sharing, ride-sharing platforms and shuttle and company buses for business parks. Stations are to be safe around the clock and barrier-free, and bus, rail, bike and car sharing better connected.

The BSW wants to implement Thuringia's cycling strategy with more state money for counties and municipalities. Every train station should get secure bike parking, and bike paths should be built as standard when state roads are renovated. The program sees potential in both everyday and tourist cycling.

The BSW wants more bike paths. Counties and towns should get more state money for them. Every train station should have safe bike parking. When a road is fixed, a bike path gets added. Children should practice safe cycling at school.

Plans include bike paths along roads and separated from main traffic, in both cities and rural areas. The state is to make better use of federal funding, such as from the National Cycling Plan 3.0. Bicycle streets, bike traffic lights and overpasses are meant to improve safety. Early safety training, for example at schools, is to improve cyclists' knowledge of traffic rules, and cycling tourism is to be promoted.

The BSW wants to reverse the ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035. Under the slogan "incentives instead of bans," the auto industry is to resume research into more fuel-efficient engines and cheaper synthetic fuels. The program sees lifting the ban as a precondition for this.

From 2035, no new gas or diesel cars may be sold. The BSW wants to end this ban. Car companies should build better engines. These engines should use less fuel. Cheaper man-made fuels should also be developed.

The BSW wants incentives for automakers to resume and intensify research on more fuel-efficient combustion engines. Synthetic fuels are also to become cheaper. As long as the car remains the main means of transport in much of Thuringia, the program opposes what it calls a rash transport transition imposed against people's wishes.

The BSW wants to make the renovation and expansion of existing roads a focus of transport policy. Bypasses and free commuter parking at highway ramps and rural transit hubs are to be supported. Planning approval procedures for transport projects should be faster.

Many roads in Thuringia are in bad shape. The BSW wants to fix and widen them. Bypass roads should be built around villages. Commuters should be able to park for free. Plans for new roads and rail lines should get approved faster.

The program cites crumbling roads and poor connections in rural areas, where the car is often the main means of transport. Bypasses are meant to improve quality of life in towns. Citizens and interest groups are to be more involved in planning. The BSW considers traffic safety on roads, bike paths, sidewalks and at stations to be of central importance.