FDP on transport

The FDP commits to Bremen Airport and wants to fully clear its maintenance backlog. It wants to support new flight routes with one million euros a year and look for a partner to take a stake in the airport.

The FDP wants to keep and strengthen Bremen Airport. All needed repairs should be done. Each year, one million euros should go to new flight routes. An experienced partner should join the airport. But the city should still decide.

The platform calls the airport an important factor for business, research, and tourism. It wants a review of whether the full runway length can also be used in regular operations; the FDP expects less noise and the option of new destinations. It also wants a review of whether the smaller runway can be closed because of low use and high costs. Possible partners are an experienced airport operator or companies from the region. The City of Bremen, as owner, is to keep decisive influence.

The FDP wants to adapt the Weser's shipping channels toward the sea and inland as needed and maintain them continuously. This is meant to keep the ports accessible to large modern vessels. Environmental and nature protection are to be taken into account.

The FDP wants to adapt the shipping channel of the Weser river. The channel is the deep part of the river for ships. Big ships should still be able to reach the ports. Nature should be considered in this work.

The platform describes Bremen as a logistics hub and Germany's largest port for handling cars. According to the FDP, the channel adaptation is ranked as a top-priority need in the federal transport infrastructure plan. The measures are to be sustainable and must not trigger significant follow-up costs. To that end, the party calls for sustainable sediment management, meaning a planned approach to deposits in the river, to be set up early.

The FDP wants to link the ports better to the hinterland by rail, road, and inland waterways and to remove bottlenecks. It names specific rail and highway projects, including outside the state of Bremen. The goal is for the ports to keep pace with Rotterdam, Antwerp, and other locations.

The FDP wants better routes from the ports to the rest of the country. This includes more rail tracks and new highways. River ships should play a role too. This should help the ports keep up with other big ports.

On rail, the FDP gives priority to the ALPHA-E route option; all lines from Bremerhaven are to be electrified and gain at least one more track by 2030. For roads, the platform lists the A20 coastal highway, the B212 to Lower Saxony, and completing the A281 ring with a Weser tunnel and a link to the A1. It wants to examine how inland shipping can relieve roads and contribute to climate-neutral transport. Permits for special heavy transports would in future be issued by the federal government in coordination with the states rather than by each state separately.

The FDP wants to move the tram out of Obernstraße and turn the street into a promenade and experience street. The freed-up space is to be used for markets, events, restaurants, greenery and relaxation.

Today the tram runs through Obernstraße in Bremen. The FDP wants to take the tram out of this street. The street should become a place for strolling. There should be room for markets, cafés and more plants.

The platform names relocating the tram as the first step. The FDP wants to open the space gained to new concepts and says it will rule nothing out. It lists various markets and events, more urban greenery, experience venues and areas for relaxing.

The FDP wants downtown Bremen to remain easy to reach by every mode of transport, including by car. It relies on a mix of transfer hubs, more parking, sharing services, better sidewalks and a new loop bus.

Everyone should be able to get to downtown Bremen easily. This includes cars. The FDP wants to build places for changing, for example from car to tram. There should be more parking. A new bus should drive in a loop through downtown. Sidewalks should get better.

Mobility hubs are to allow switching between modes of transport; sharing services and public parking are to be expanded. As a flagship project, the platform names a loop service with battery- or hydrogen-powered, possibly autonomous buses running frequently along Brill, Obernstraße and Wall. This is also meant to revive secondary locations such as Knochenhauerstraße economically. Sidewalks are to become accessible and safe, and some of the promenade streets are to be covered.

The FDP wants to review the future of Columbusstraße in Bremerhaven. The road is to keep its capacity but no longer separate downtown from the Havenwelten; narrowing it without a plan for the freed-up land is rejected.

Columbusstraße in Bremerhaven separates downtown from the harbor area. The FDP wants to change that. But cars should still be able to drive well. First there should be a plan for the free land. Residents should have a say.

First, a vision is to be developed for the land that a redesign would free up. As possible solutions, the platform names a second lane opened only when needed, or a three-lane layout modeled on Grimsbystraße. Because of the city's limited finances, the redesign is to be moderate. A concept is to be worked out in a design workshop with broad public participation.

The FDP wants to close a section of Bürgermeister-Smidt-Straße in Bremerhaven, known as the "Alte Bürger," to motorized through traffic. This is meant to create more outdoor space for restaurants and help the street grow as a meeting place for culture, business and students.

The Alte Bürger is a street in Bremerhaven with many bars and restaurants. The FDP wants fewer cars there. Residents, bikes and delivery vans can still drive. Restaurants should get more space outside. There should be more trash cans.

The section from the corner of Querstraße to the intersection Am Gitter/Dresdner Straße is to be closed; residents, bicycles and deliveries remain allowed. Parking there is to be reduced carefully, with more spaces created on Rudloffstraße in return. A 30 km/h zone is planned from Kantstraße to that intersection. To reduce litter, there are to be many more trash cans fitted with ashtrays.

The FDP wants to improve sidewalks in Bremen and to record and clear the repair backlog. Paths are to be safe, clean and accessible, which according to the platform also benefits retail, restaurants and the climate.

Many people walk. The FDP wants better sidewalks. Broken paths should be repaired. The paths should be safe and clean. People in wheelchairs should be able to use them well too.

The need for repairs is to be recorded systematically and worked through quickly. The FDP takes a positive view of new, low-cost and environmentally friendly construction methods such as thin asphalt layers laid cold. Walking is to be included more in city and neighborhood development. The party promises sufficient funding.

The FDP wants to expand cycling in Bremen and Bremerhaven and remove danger spots. Added to this are a plan for bike parking, green-arrow signs for cyclists and, in Bremerhaven, new routes and bicycle streets.

The FDP wants more cycling. Cycling should become safer. Dangerous spots should go away. There should be better parking for bikes. Bremerhaven should get new bicycle streets.

All danger spots are first to be analyzed and then defused through markings or rerouting; the number of bicycle streets is not to fall. Public spaces such as Domsheide and areas in the neighborhoods are to get modern bike parking. In Bremerhaven, the FDP wants to develop the northern axis east of the rail line and improve signage. Cycling in the pedestrian zone there is to be allowed as a time-limited trial. Prager Straße and Am Alten Hafen are to become bicycle streets, and more are under review.

The FDP wants to repair existing bike paths and provide enough money for that. It rejects new premium cycling routes as long as upkeep of the existing network is not secured, and the bike lane on the street Am Wall is to go back to car traffic.

Many bike paths are in bad shape. The FDP wants to repair them first. It does not want to build new big bike routes for now. The bike lane on Am Wall should be for cars again.

Further construction of the premium cycling routes is to pause until maintenance of existing paths is secured. According to the platform, the lane on Am Wall is hardly used because many cyclists ride through the adjacent park. The FDP also considers it dangerous because of the police station and police cars driving against the direction of travel. The party rejects makeshift extra bike lanes like the one on Martinistraße, citing accident risk and little benefit.

The FDP continues to see the car as indispensable and wants to keep main traffic arteries efficient. It wants to tackle the parking shortage with neighborhood garages, resident parking and digital parking management rather than bans.

The FDP says: Many people need a car. Traffic should flow well. There should be more parking garages in the neighborhoods. The FDP does not want parking bans. There should be more charging stations for electric cars.

The plan includes more green-arrow signs and removing unneeded signage. The FDP rejects traffic experiments like the one on Martinistraße as a waste of taxpayer money. Parking with two wheels on the sidewalk is to be reduced, but through better transit links, shuttle services, existing garages, affordable resident parking and paid visitor spaces. In Bremerhaven, the party wants to expand charging points and hydrogen filling stations with several private providers. Private car-sharing services are to get more parking spaces.

The FDP wants to put the taxi market on a market footing and open it to new mobility services such as Uber. The duty to operate for taxis is to be dropped, and private sharing services are to grow.

The FDP wants to open the taxi market. New companies like Uber should be allowed to drive in Bremen. Today taxis must be on call at set times. The FDP wants to drop this duty.

New mobility providers are to be permitted in Bremen; the platform names Uber as an example. The duty to operate, which obliges taxi companies to keep their vehicles available, is to be abolished. The FDP wants to expand private sharing services and provide parking spaces for them.

The FDP wants ride-hailing services such as Uber to be available in Bremen and Bremerhaven. Sharing services should also reach outlying districts, and new digital mobility services such as e-scooters should be permitted under fair competitive conditions.

The FDP wants to allow ride services like Uber in Bremen and Bremerhaven. Shared cars should also be available at the edge of the city. New services like e-scooters should be possible. The same rules should apply to all companies.

Taxi companies are to be released from the duty to be on standby all night, which the platform says makes the business barely profitable. The FDP wants to change the award rules for sharing parking spots so that sought-after locations are bundled with commercially less attractive ones. This is meant to bring car sharing and "Mobil-Punkte" (mobility hubs) to outlying districts. Digital mobility services in passenger transport, especially e-scooters, are to operate under equal competitive conditions for all providers.

The FDP wants more frequent bus and tram service in Bremen, with waits of no more than seven minutes during the day and a ride every 25 minutes at night. Stops and ferry landings are to become safer and better equipped.

The FDP wants more buses and trams in Bremen. During the day, nobody should wait longer than 7 minutes. At night, there should be a ride every 25 minutes. Stops should be bright and safe.

The seven-minute limit is to apply between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. For nighttime, the platform plans service every 25 minutes because demand is currently not being met. For Bremerhaven, the FDP points to the 10-minute interval on the main lines. Display boards at stops should work reliably, and a lighting plan is to improve safety when stops are redesigned. Ferry landings are to get weather-protected waiting areas with restrooms.

The FDP wants more and more frequent buses to the freight village (GVZ), the overseas ports, and the fishing port. For the Überseestadt district, a loop service with electric, ideally autonomous vehicles and a ferry link are to be examined.

The FDP wants more buses to the ports and the freight center. This makes it easier for workers to get to work. The Überseestadt district should also be easier to reach. The FDP wants to test small electric vehicles and a ferry for this.

The platform criticizes that the freight village can only be reached by one bus per hour and that no bus runs in the overseas port during the day. Schedules are to be aligned with working hours in consultation with employers. Funding is to come from a joint pool of the Senate and local companies. In Überseestadt, a field trial with on-demand vehicles is planned between Überseestadt-Nord, the Nordstraße tram stop, and Walle station. A feasibility study is to look at a hydrogen ferry linking Pier 2 or Waterfront, Woltmershausen, and the Schlachte; the marina in the Europahafen is to be kept.

The FDP wants to link key hubs in the state with express lines and serve hard-to-reach neighborhoods with shuttle and on-demand minibuses. The city of Bremen's park-and-ride plan is also to be revised to cut downtown traffic and CO2 emissions.

The FDP wants fast buses between important places in the state. Small buses on request should go to remote neighborhoods. There should be better parking lots with links to buses and trams. People can leave their car there and switch.

Existing and new lines are to become express, cross-town, and business-area lines. The platform names Burg-Grambke, Bremen-Nord, and Huchting with Grolland and Strom among the neighborhoods that are poorly served so far. For funding, the FDP points to a federal program for digitizing municipal transport systems worth 30 million euros. Park-and-ride facilities are to be connected to the regional road network and to transit, integrated into neighborhood parking plans, and fully equipped with charging stations.

The FDP wants to close the gap in the A281 highway as quickly as possible. According to the platform, the highway ring would noticeably ease traffic.

The FDP wants to finish building the A281 highway. Then there will be a ring around Bremen. The FDP says this eases traffic in several districts.

The platform points to more than 37 years of planning and construction that should now come to an end. According to the FDP, Obervieland, the Neustadt, Woltmershausen, Seehausen, and Strom would benefit most. The reason given is better infrastructure once the ring is closed.

The FDP wants to clear the repair backlog for roads and bridges within ten years and rejects makeshift solutions. At the same time, Bremen's road construction standards are to be lowered, and new bridges over the Weser are to be built for more than just bicycles.

The FDP wants to repair broken roads and bridges. This should be done within ten years. Bremen should build roads in a less costly way. New bridges over the Weser river should not be for bikes only.

In the FDP's view, postponing maintenance spending drives costs up. The platform sees major need at the Weser bridges and the A1 highway and rejects stopgap solutions such as at the Stephanibrücke. It says the requirements for storm drainage, curbs, sidewalks, and bike paths exceed those of other cities and should drop to a typical level so that repairs become cheaper. New Weser bridges are to serve pedestrians, transit, and emergency vehicles in addition to cyclists.

The FDP calls for a port bypass road (Hafenrandstraße) in Bremerhaven linking the Zollhaus Roter Sand with Cherbourger Straße and the port tunnel. It is meant to relieve the port and the Lehe district of through traffic.

The FDP wants a new road along the edge of the port in Bremerhaven. Then fewer cars and trucks drive through the port. The Lehe district should also get less traffic and noise.

The route is to run along the customs fence on land belonging to the city of Bremen and could partly use an already paved road on BLG property. Planning would have to account for changes to customs clearance. According to the platform, through traffic in the port hampers commercial traffic because of the many rail crossings. In Lehe, the Twischenkamp, Klushof, and Goethestraße neighborhoods are to benefit most, along with the Langener Landstraße, Stresemannstraße, and Elbestraße corridor.

The FDP wants a joint guideline across all agencies for construction sites and road closures so that information comes earlier and is clearer. Traffic light timing is to be reviewed continuously with digital tools so that all road users can move without long waits.

The FDP wants to plan road work better. Agencies should tell people earlier about road closures. Traffic lights should be timed better. Nobody should wait long, whether on foot, by bike, or by car.

In addition to the guideline, a catalog of measures with a communication strategy is planned. Digital tools are to show construction sites and closures day by day and allow virtual simulations of site logistics. Traffic light timing should support walking and cycling without worsening the flow of motor traffic. The platform justifies this with otherwise higher particulate and nitrogen oxide levels and a greater risk of accidents.

The FDP wants to add two tracks to the rail line between Bremen and Bremerhaven and connect the two cities more often and at night. Bremerhaven is to become a regular long-distance stop, and the link to Groningen is to become a high-speed line in the long-distance network.

The FDP wants more tracks between Bremen and Bremerhaven. Trains should run more often, also at night. More long-distance trains should stop in Bremerhaven. The line to Groningen in the Netherlands should also get faster.

During rush hour, regional express trains and the Regio-S-Bahn are to link the two cities every half hour; weekend night trains are to be added and weekday night service examined. The service is to be offered at a steeply reduced fare and paid for by the state of Bremen. The extra tracks are to remove the bottleneck at the Burger Brücke on a widened bridge, which the platform says would especially benefit Bremen-Nord. Speckenbüttel station is to reopen for passengers; the FDP expects about 33,000 new riders. The Bremen–Groningen line is to become part of a European high-speed corridor from Copenhagen to Paris.

The FDP calls for a transport development plan for Bremerhaven and for the related council decisions to be carried out. To that end, the city planning office is to be moved back into the building department.

The FDP wants a plan for traffic in Bremerhaven. The plan should cover all kinds of transport. The ports and downtown should be easy to reach. The city planning office should belong to the building department again.

The platform points to decisions from 2012 and 2019 that it says have not yet been carried out. In the FDP's view, placing the city planning office in the department that also runs the treasury has not worked. The plan is to account for access to the ports, the needs of small and mid-sized businesses, mobility as a basic public service, and sustainability and climate protection. The goal is a network that treats all modes of transport equally and leads to concrete strategies, programs, and projects.