Grüne on transport

The Greens want to lower greenhouse gas emissions from transport. A bicycle law, a climate review for road construction projects and stronger expansion of bus and rail are meant to achieve this.

Transport should harm the climate less. The Greens want a law for cycling. New roads should be checked for climate harm first. Buses and trains should get more support. Villages should be well connected too.

The plan includes a bicycle law, a climate check for road construction projects and more funding for expanding public transit. Mobility is to be simple, safe, environmentally friendly and affordable, with less noise and air pollution. Cyclists and pedestrians are to get more space. Villages and remote regions are to be connected to bus, rail and networked mobility services.

The Greens aim for a guarantee that everyone in the state has a reliable bus or train connection at least once an hour during the day. A solidarity-financed ticket for all of North Rhine-Westphalia would be phased in, starting with free travel for young people up to 18. According to the platform, today's 8.5 percent share of trips is not enough to meet the transport climate target.

The Greens want buses and trains to run regularly everywhere. There should be a connection at least once an hour. In big cities, every half hour. There should be one ticket for the whole state. Everyone pays for it together. Children and teens up to 18 should ride free first.

The guarantee would apply hourly from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and every half hour from 4:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. in large cities and their surroundings; places with 200 or more residents would also get more service. Where regular buses are little used, app-based services, on-call buses and volunteer-run citizens' buses would fill in. People doing voluntary service would get an offer similar to the student ticket, later free of charge. The apprentice ticket would become cheaper, and affordable options are planned for people with low incomes and older people. Public employers would gradually be required to offer a job ticket, starting with state agencies.

The Greens want to double per-capita investment in buses, trains, tracks and stations, reactivate rail lines and stop closing lines. New state roads would be built only in exceptional cases, and far fewer highways and federal roads would be newly built or widened. The platform wants to prioritize buses, trains, cycling and walking and puts climate protection and quality of life at the center.

The Greens want to spend much more money on buses and trains. Old rail lines should be used again. New roads should rarely be built. The money should go to broken roads, rail, bike paths and footpaths. Car-free city centers should become possible.

The S-Bahn network on the Rhine and Ruhr would grow beyond the RRX (Rhine-Ruhr Express) together with the federal government, and diesel lines would be electrified by 2030 at the latest. A statewide transport company able to run services itself is planned with the three regional transit associations, and a state infrastructure company would be examined. A new requirements plan for state roads would limit new construction, and municipal grants would go to new roads only in exceptional cases. At the federal level, the party wants to push for sharp cuts even to pre-planned trunk road projects in the state, including river crossings. Cities and counties would be both required and helped to invest themselves.

The Greens want to set up regional express bus lines across the state by 2025 and invest in an emission-free bus service. Climate-friendly drive systems would become mandatory in local transit plans. This is meant to speed up the transport transition in urban and rural areas.

The Greens want express buses everywhere by 2025. These buses connect towns and cities quickly. Buses should no longer produce exhaust. Cities get money for such buses. Buses should get their own lanes.

The express buses would serve all cities and towns and, where services are missing, also link metropolitan areas. For fast trips at rush hour, the party wants to follow examples abroad and open highway shoulders to scheduled buses where feasible. Municipalities would get more help with bus lanes and traffic-signal priority. Purchases of zero-emission buses would be subsidized for municipalities and transit operators.

The Greens want to raise the bicycle's share of all trips from about 8 percent to at least 25 percent by 2035. An improved cycling law and a statewide network of bike highways and priority routes are planned for this. Municipalities would also get help with a strategy for pedestrian traffic.

The Greens want many more people to ride bikes. By 2035, one in four trips should be by bike. There should be a network of fast bike paths across the state. People on foot should also get safe paths without obstacles.

Municipalities would receive money for their own cycling plans and for repairing existing routes; bike paths should be wide enough for cargo bikes used in deliveries. Job-bike schemes in the public sector would be expanded, cargo bikes would continue to be subsidized, and bikes should travel free on buses and trains where possible. Roads would only be built or repaired if cycling becomes safer and better as a result. For pedestrians, the platform lists barrier-free routes without detours, safe crossings, suitable signal timing, lowered curbs and tactile guidance elements.

For cars, the Greens are betting on electric drive and want charging options everywhere within five years. Public vehicle fleets would switch to renewable drive systems by 2030 at the latest. The platform notes that rural families and businesses still depend on having their own car.

The Greens want more electric cars. In 5 years there should be charging stations everywhere. Companies with charging stations should pay less tax. Government vehicles should run without gasoline or diesel by 2030.

The parking regulation would be adjusted, and public and private charging points would continue to be subsidized, combined with solar panels and storage where possible. The party wants to push for uniform charging and payment standards. Companies that provide charging spots for employees, customers or neighbors would get relief on taxes and fees. Parking rules would call for as few car spaces as possible and for more good bicycle parking.

The Greens want to connect all modes of transport and build a single booking platform within five years. Households would get a bonus for switching to public transit or cycling. The platform expects this to give people a free choice among transport modes.

The Greens want to link buses, trains, bikes and rental vehicles better. In 5 years there should be one booking platform for everything. Stations should make changing easier. People who switch to buses, trains or bikes should get money. Buses, trains and stops should be free of barriers.

Sharing services for cars, bikes, cargo bikes and senior scooters would grow, and train stations and bus hubs would become mobility stations. Buses, trains and stops would become barrier-free everywhere. Digital services such as on-demand buses and ride-sharing would be strengthened. Private providers would have to supply interfaces to public mobility platforms. The switching bonus is modeled on the purchase premium for electric cars and takes the needs of people with disabilities into account.

The Greens want municipalities to be able to make 30 km/h the default in built-up areas, with 50 km/h only in justified exceptions. Speed limits on highways and outside towns would be lowered. The platform cites higher accident risk and energy use at high speeds.

The Greens want cars to drive more slowly. In towns, 30 km/h should be able to be the rule. Cities decide where 50 km/h still applies. Speeds on highways and country roads should also go down. This should protect children, people on foot and cyclists.

The party wants to improve road safety regardless of whether the federal government goes along. The safety of children, people with disabilities, pedestrians and cyclists should come first in local transport policy. Municipalities would be required to draw up plans for walking and cycling, and the state would fund their implementation.

After the pandemic, the Greens do not want a return to unlimited growth in air traffic but want to align it with the goal of climate neutrality. A sustainable air traffic plan would set the framework. The platform calls the airplane the most climate-damaging mode of transport and points to burdens on nearby residents.

The Greens do not want air travel to grow without limits. Flying should harm the climate less. Düsseldorf and Cologne-Bonn airports should blend in climate-friendly fuel. People living near airports should be better protected.

Düsseldorf and Cologne-Bonn airports would take a leading role in gradually replacing kerosene with climate-neutral fuels. As burdens on residents, the platform lists aircraft noise, exhaust and traffic to and from the airports. At the same time, it states that a globalized world is not conceivable without airplanes.

The Greens want to cut night flights and oppose any further expansion of airports in North Rhine-Westphalia. Public subsidies for airports from the state and municipalities are to end. The program cites noise protection and climate protection as reasons.

The Greens want fewer flights at night. No airport in the state should grow. The state and the cities should stop giving money to airports. Buses and trains should replace short flights.

Night flight bans are to be reviewed continuously, both for compliance and for possible extension. For Cologne-Bonn airport, the program calls for a strict night flight ban. The party sees no transport need for expansion at any site and considers it incompatible with climate policy. Domestic and short-haul flights are to become unnecessary as soon as possible through better bus and rail services.

The Greens want far more freight to move by rail and inland waterway and back the EU goal of shifting three quarters of road freight. Remaining truck traffic is to be emission-free by 2035. All suitable drive technologies are to receive support.

Today most goods travel by truck. The Greens want more goods to go by train and ship. The remaining trucks should run without emissions by 2035. The Greens want to support different drives, such as batteries and hydrogen.

More industrial and commercial sites are to be connected to the rail network, and rail lines to the seaports are to be expanded with high noise protection standards. Combined transport within about 50 kilometers of ports and freight stations is to be exempt from tolls. A new state waterways plan is to be drawn up with environmental groups, municipalities and business, along with funding programs such as for low-water vessels and a federal initiative on taxing marine diesel. For trucks, the program relies on batteries, hydrogen and overhead lines and on building the related infrastructure. Gas trucks and biofuels are considered necessary for a transitional period.

The Greens want to bundle parcel delivery in cities and make it climate-neutral. City hubs are to be set up, and by 2030 every household is to have access to parcel lockers. This is meant to reduce traffic in residential areas.

More and more parcels are delivered to homes. The Greens want to build collection points for parcels in cities. From there, cargo bikes and electric vehicles should deliver them. By 2030, every household should have a parcel locker nearby.

Within ten years, city hubs are to be developed in all large cities and in interested rural districts. They are to bundle online-retail shipments using real-time data and make the final leg to the front door climate-neutral. Cargo bikes and vehicles with alternative drives are to make delivery quieter and emission-free. Parcel lockers for every household by 2030 are meant to avoid repeat trips and give delivery workers more time.