Grüne on transport

The Greens want to stick to the rule that from 2035 only new cars with climate-neutral drives are registered. They justify this with planning certainty for the car industry and want to speed up the switch to electric cars with subsidies.

From 2035, new cars should emit no CO₂. The Greens want to keep this rule. They say car companies need clear rules. The state should help with buying electric cars and with charging stations.

The party backs the EU fleet emission limits with their steps for 2025, 2030 and 2035. Possible fines for carmakers would be spread over time within current rules and channeled into e-mobility through European programs. Money for charging infrastructure and socially graded purchase and leasing incentives for efficient electric cars are planned, but only for vehicles made in Europe. Research programs and regional transformation networks would advance retraining and new business models.

The Greens want to make it easier for people with low and middle incomes to switch to an electric car, especially in rural areas. They propose state support for buying efficient electric cars and lower prices at charging stations.

The Greens want to help people buy electric cars. The help is for people with low or middle incomes. It matters most for people in the countryside. Charging at public stations should also get cheaper.

The support includes a charging card for public charging stations and an affordable leasing scheme, which the platform calls social leasing. A tax incentive aimed at low and middle incomes is added. The support is also meant to help the European car industry. At charging stations, more competition and stronger consumer protection are supposed to end what the party sees as excessive prices. The platform relies on a range of pricing models, including flexible rates tied to the wholesale power price.

The Greens want a thorough overhaul of transport infrastructure, financed long-term through a Deutschlandfonds (Germany fund). The rail network is to grow, while in the party's view roads should be repaired rather than newly built.

Many roads, bridges and rail lines are in bad shape. The Greens want to repair them. A new fund should provide the money. There should be more rail lines. The Greens say few new roads are needed.

The Deutschlandfonds is to secure money over several years for roads and bridges, rail and local public transport. An integrated federal mobility plan is to form the basis for climate-neutral, land-saving and socially fair mobility by 2045; until then the federal transport infrastructure plan will be reviewed against the climate targets. Disused rail lines are to reopen, mainly in rural areas, and the bike path network is to get lasting nationwide funding. Investments in accessibility and safe stops are to make climate-friendly mobility available to everyone. In the long run the party seeks financing models that shift traffic and have ecological effects.

The Greens want to modernize air and sea transport with sustainable fuels and climate-neutral energy in ports. Benefits for private jets are to end, and short-haul flights are to become unnecessary thanks to better rail service.

Planes and ships should harm the climate less. New, clean fuels should make this possible. Private jets should lose their advantages. Better trains should replace short flights. It should get quieter around airports.

Support is to go to fuels made from renewable energy such as e-kerosene, fuel-saving technology and shore power in ports; the state can act as an anchor customer. A long-term financing plan is intended for the ports. The party sees no need for new takeoff and landing capacity, for ecological and economic reasons. Noise protection near airports is to be stronger, especially at night, and a limit for ultrafine particles is to be introduced. For trucks, the platform points to the reformed truck toll as an incentive for climate-neutral drivetrains.

The Greens want a general speed limit of 130 km/h on the autobahn. Municipalities should find it easier to set 30 km/h limits in built-up areas, including across entire towns. The platform cites road safety and environmental protection as reasons.

The Greens want a speed limit on the autobahn. Drivers may go 130 km/h at most. Towns should find it easier to set a 30 km/h limit. This should lead to fewer crashes.

Besides the 130 km/h autobahn limit, municipalities would get more freedom to set 30 km/h limits throughout built-up areas. On rural roads, 80 km/h limits for local reasons would become possible more often. Fines for serious traffic offenses would rise to the level common in Europe. Routes to school would be made safer and public spaces more accessible. The guiding idea is Vision Zero, meaning traffic without any deaths.

The Greens want to keep the Deutschland-Ticket (nationwide local transit pass) affordable and, together with the states, secure a price of 49 euros. They also plan discounted offers for specific groups.

The Deutschland-Ticket should stay. It should cost 49 euros a month. People with little money should get a cheaper ticket. Trainees should get a low-cost offer too.

The 49-euro price is to be secured jointly with the states. The platform sees untapped potential in job tickets offered through employers. Alongside the semester ticket for students, solutions are planned for trainees and people doing voluntary service. A nationwide discounted offer is planned for people with low incomes. The party welcomes states and transit associations letting young people ride free or at a steep discount.

The Greens want to expand public transit so that it is an alternative to the car in rural areas as well. In the medium term, every village should have hourly service from early morning until late evening. A mobility law would enshrine priority for public transit, rail, walking and cycling.

The Greens want more buses and trains. People in the countryside should get around well without a car. Every village should have a bus or train each hour. A new law should set this out.

By 2040, twice as many passengers should be using climate-neutral buses and trains. Federal funding is to rise along with higher state spending, including the regionalization funds that pay for regional transit. On-demand buses, networked minibuses and car sharing would supplement scheduled service as pilot projects, and rural train stations would become mobility hubs. Tickets should be easy to buy across transit association boundaries. States and municipalities would get support if they want to offer fare-free transit or tap new funding sources such as contributions.

The Greens want to keep repairing and expanding the rail network and speed up the Deutschlandtakt. Rail's share of freight transport should rise to 30 percent within ten years.

The Greens want better trains. They want to fix tracks and build new ones. Trains should run often and on time. More goods should travel by train instead of by truck.

The Deutschlandtakt, a coordinated timetable with regular connections between cities and rural areas, is to arrive sooner. Night trains across Europe would be expanded considerably. Track access charges, the fees for using the rails, should be low and predictable. Freight capacity would grow, for example in combined transport, and shipments would move from road to rail. For staff in local and long-distance transport, the party wants better working conditions and good pay, including for night work.