FDP on transport

The FDP wants to overturn the EU rule that effectively bans new combustion engine cars from 2035 and to abolish fleet emission limits. It relies instead on alternative fuels such as e-fuels, arguing that fossil fuels, not the engine, are the problem.

From 2035, no new combustion cars are to be sold in the EU. The FDP wants to lift this rule. It counts on new fuels without oil. The CO2 limits for carmakers should also go.

Climate-neutral fuels are meant to keep vehicles already on the road running; the same applies to aircraft and ships. Emission rules for cars would cover a vehicle's whole life cycle instead of only tailpipe emissions. Electric drive, climate-neutral fuels and hydrogen would be treated equally in regulation, taxation and subsidies. The FDP expects more flexibility for industry and secure jobs as a result.

The FDP wants to greatly speed up planning and permitting for transport routes and digital networks. Funding is to be secured within the debt brake, including with private capital.

The FDP wants to build roads, rail and networks faster. Planning should take only half as long. The state should not take on extra debt for this. Private investors should be able to help pay.

The rollout of mobile and fiber networks would be legally classed as an overriding public interest. Replacement structures could be built without a permit, even when they are larger than the original. A "construction site turbo" would use incentives in tenders to reward fast, on-time building and reduce traffic jams. The federal highway company Autobahn GmbH would receive its own revenue from the truck toll and open up to private investors so it can plan over several years.

The FDP wants to make the driver's license cheaper and quicker to obtain, allow accompanied driving from age 16 and permit autonomous driving. It rejects a general speed limit on the Autobahn and mandatory driving tests for seniors.

A driver's license should cost less. Teens should be allowed to drive with an adult from age 16. Cars should be allowed to drive themselves. The FDP wants no speed limit on highways. It also wants no forced tests for older drivers.

Costs are to fall by allowing theory lessons without a daily cap and online, and by using driving simulators in training. More test providers and examiners without an engineering degree are meant to bring more test slots and shorter waits. Automated driving systems of all levels would be approved. Licenses and vehicle documents would become digital. The party also wants to preserve what it calls automotive cultural heritage.

The FDP wants to split Deutsche Bahn into rail network and train operations and create more competition on the rails. This is meant to make rail more reliable. In local transit, flexible, digitally linked services would supplement fixed routes.

The FDP wants to split Deutsche Bahn. One part looks after the tracks, another runs the trains. More companies should run trains. The FDP says this makes trains more reliable. Buses and trains should run more flexibly.

Federal money would be focused on infrastructure and flow there steadily and in sufficient amounts. Long-distance service would be opened to more providers. The FDP wants to review the ongoing overhaul of the main rail corridors and continue it only if success is proven. For local transit, the platform demands reforms from states and transit associations, on-demand services and "mobility hubs" for transfers, based on data and digital platforms.

The FDP wants to abolish the air travel tax and lower aviation security fees. According to the platform, flying should stay affordable and Germany should remain competitive as an aviation hub.

There is a special tax on plane tickets. The FDP wants to end this tax. Fees for airport security should also go down. This should keep flights affordable.

Airlines and airports would get more entrepreneurial freedom. Modernizing airports should not fail because of red tape. In the FDP's view, the EU quotas for sustainable aviation fuels must not put European airlines at a one-sided disadvantage.