Grüne on transport

The Greens reject the current expansion plans for the Leipzig/Halle cargo airport and call for suspending flights there between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. In general, noise, exhaust and unnecessary light are to be reduced, which the program also describes as a matter of social justice.

The Greens want less noise and dirty air. No planes should fly at night at Leipzig/Halle airport. The airport should not grow as planned. Lamps should only shine where light is needed.

Cargo airlines are to contribute considerably more to reducing climate and health effects, and noise protection around the airport is to improve; the party supports a move toward a "Green Airport." Along major roads and rail lines, speed limits, greenery and noise barriers are meant to help. More freight is to move to rail, and public transit and bike paths are to be expanded. Lighting that can be switched on and off as needed is to be subsidized; near-natural areas are to stay unlit. Municipalities are to be made aware of this, and green space plans are to be pushed in zoning procedures.

The Greens want to make it easier for work machinery and vehicles to switch to fully electric drive and to expand charging infrastructure, especially in rural areas. In large cities, commercial traffic is to get reserved daytime parking spaces with charging stations. Electric mobility is to become more attractive on price than combustion engines.

Companies should find it easier to switch to electric vehicles. There should be more charging stations, especially in the countryside. In big cities, companies should get reserved daytime parking with chargers. Parcel services should deliver without exhaust fumes.

Saxony is to use and build on its position as a hub for electric mobility. Trades, logistics, and care businesses are to be able to apply for special permits faster through a mobile app. For parcel services, the Greens support central distribution hubs in every region. From there, last-mile delivery is to be emission-free.

The Greens want to reduce air freight over the longer term because of its climate impact. For Leipzig/Halle Airport, planning is to start early on how freed-up capacity can be put to other uses.

Cargo planes harm the climate. So the Greens want fewer cargo flights over time. This will free up space at Leipzig/Halle Airport. New plans for that space should be made early enough.

The platform justifies the demand with the climate-damaging effects of cargo flights. The reduction is framed as a long-term goal. For Leipzig/Halle Airport, the Greens support timely planning for alternative uses.

The Greens want to give bicycle tourism in Saxony special priority. A coordination office is to develop and market long-distance cycling routes, and the junction-based signage system is to be finished quickly. On public transit, taking bikes along is to become easier and accessibility is to improve.

The Greens want more bike vacations in Saxony. A new office should take care of long bike routes. Bike paths should get better. It should be easier to take bikes on buses and trains. There should be more charging stations for e-bikes.

Tourism stakeholders are to get support in setting up the coordination office. Together with municipalities, the quality of bike paths is to be raised. Bike transport and accessibility are to improve above all on routes used by tourists. Infrastructure for combining rail and bike travel is to grow, for example through e-bike charging stations and service stations in rural areas. The party wants to support related plans and investments.

The Greens reject using structural change funds to pay for expanding the A4 highway. Instead, they want to expand and build freight terminals and test ways of shifting goods from road to rail.

The Greens do not want to widen the A4 highway with money meant for the coal regions. The money should go to freight transfer stations instead. More goods should travel by train instead of by truck.

The platform calls for pilot projects in which freight is moved from trucks onto trains. The Greens count climate-neutral transport infrastructure among the investments for structural change. To that end, local public transit and long-distance rail are to be expanded extensively.

The Greens regard mobility as a basic right and want an investment drive to expand rail, local public transit, cycling, and walking routes. All plans for new and widened roads are to be reviewed for climate impact, effectiveness, and cost efficiency. A state mobility law and a state mobility plan are to provide the basis.

The Greens want more buses, trains, bike paths, and sidewalks. Everyone should be able to get around well. Plans for new roads should be checked. The checks look at climate protection and costs. A new law should set the rules.

The platform foresees solutions tailored to cities and to rural areas; the party says cars will remain important in the countryside. Plans include service-oriented public transit, on-demand buses, and sharing schemes for cars and bikes. Saxony is to draw down federal cycling funds much more fully. To pay for this, the party wants business to contribute alongside federal and state money. The platform names the safety of all road users, especially children, older people, and the sick, as its top priority.

The Greens want to keep the Deutschlandticket (nationwide local transit pass) affordable in Saxony and avoid sharp price increases. Low-income people and apprentices would get their own fare, and public-sector employees a job ticket.

The Greens want to keep the Deutschlandticket cheap. This is a pass for local trains and buses in all of Germany. The price should not jump. People with little money should get their own fare. So should apprentices. State workers should get a job ticket.

The platform sees the state of Saxony as primarily responsible for funding local public transit and commits to co-financing the ticket. Sudden price jumps for passengers are to be prevented. People with low incomes and apprentices would get a separate fare. All public-sector employees in Saxony would be offered a job version of the Deutschlandticket.

The Greens want a mobility guarantee so that people in cities and rural areas can get around without a car. Binding minimum standards for train and bus frequencies plus on-demand services are to secure this. By 2030, public transit's share of all trips is to double.

The Greens want a mobility guarantee. That means everyone can get around well without a car. Trains should run at least once an hour. Small towns should get on-demand buses and taxis. By 2030, twice as many trips should be made by bus and train.

The guarantee would apply from 5 a.m. to midnight and, in the long run, around the clock between the big cities. Trains would run at least hourly, and every 30 or 15 minutes in urban areas, as the basis for the Sachsentakt (statewide coordinated timetable) by 2027. Hourly regional buses, city buses every 10 to 30 minutes and express buses would be added. On-demand buses and similar services should arrive within an hour, reach every district and become eligible for state funding. Rental bikes, bike paths, mobility hubs and digitally linked bus services round out the plan. The goal is for 80 percent of the population to have access to regularly scheduled transit.

The Greens want to enshrine the mobility guarantee in a mobility law and the state transit plan. Local transit would become a mandatory task for municipalities. In return, they would get more money and new funding options.

The Greens want a mobility law. It says how often buses and trains must run. Towns and counties must then offer local transit. The state gives them more money for this. Federal money goes fully to the towns and counties.

The state transit plan would cover all modes of mobility and set binding requirements. A reform and merger of the regional transit associations would be examined; the Saxon Mobility Company would be strengthened and create common standards for services, fares, sales and information. Federal transit funds would be passed on to municipalities in full instead of being partly held back in the state budget. Legal changes would allow municipalities new funding tools, such as a mobility pass paid by those who benefit. The platform cites the guest card in the Saxon Switzerland region as a model.

The Greens plan an investment drive for rail, local transit, cycling and walking paths. The commuter rail networks around Dresden and Leipzig and the Chemnitz Model are to grow. The party also wants more funding for electric buses.

The Greens want to put a lot of money into buses and trains. More commuter trains should run around Dresden and Leipzig. They should come more often. The network around Chemnitz should grow too. Cities should be able to buy more electric buses.

Around Dresden, commuter trains on additional routes, such as to Freiberg, Bautzen or Děčín, would run at least every half hour, and hourly to Döbeln and Sebnitz. A through line from Freital to the north of Dresden would serve the industrial areas there. In the Leipzig-Halle area, the plan calls for more frequent service, new stops and extended lines. The Chemnitz Model, which links tram and railway networks, would be extended to four more towns. Battery and hybrid trains would be advanced and cross-state regional lines examined. The state investment program for low-emission buses would be increased.

The Greens want to put disused rail lines back into service and call this a priority. This is meant to make the rail network less vulnerable to disruptions. More state money would be made available to pay for it.

Some rail lines in Saxony are no longer in use. The Greens want trains to run there again. This matters a lot to them. Then trains have other routes when a line is closed. The state should give more money for this.

Lines named include the Muldentalbahn, the Herrnhuter Bahn and the Döbeln–Meißen route. Further lines would be examined in detailed potential studies. According to the platform, fewer replacement buses would be needed during closures because trains could take other routes. A baseline study would be commissioned for links to neighboring states and to Poland and the Czech Republic. To pay for planning and construction, the state's co-financing share under the Municipal Transport Financing Act would be raised.

The Greens want to create new stops on existing rail lines and turn stations into mobility hubs. There, rail, bus, bicycle and car would be linked. Platforms are to be fully accessible without barriers.

The Greens want more stops on rail lines. Stations should become nicer and safer. Changing there should be easy. There should be spaces for bikes and cars. Everyone should reach the platform without barriers.

The model for the station drive is the station program of the Upper Elbe transit association (VVO). The mobility hubs would include covered bike parking, park-and-ride spaces and charging stations. The federal station program should continue. Municipalities would get help turning stations into meeting places and showpieces of their towns. Every stop would get a sheltered waiting area.

The Greens want better long-distance rail links for southwestern and eastern Saxony and want lines to Poland and the Czech Republic expanded and electrified. The Deutschlandticket should be valid on Saxon sections of long-distance trains.

The Greens want more long-distance trains for Saxony. The southwest and the east should get better links. More trains should also run to Poland and the Czech Republic. The Deutschlandticket should be valid on some long-distance trains in Saxony.

Better links are planned from Dresden and Görlitz to Berlin and to Chemnitz, among others. The party wants to press the federal government for full electrification of the Saxony-Franconia main line toward Bavaria. It also calls for expansion and electrification of routes such as Dresden–Wrocław, Zittau–Liberec and Plauen–Cheb. Besides the new Dresden–Prague line, other border links should not be neglected. Where rail is not feasible, buses would cross the border.

The Greens want as much freight as possible moved by rail instead of truck and plan to draw up a freight strategy for this. The Elbe river is not to be deepened or widened; the party rejects a barrage near Děčín.

The Greens want more goods to go by train. Fewer trucks should be on the road. There should be a plan for all of Saxony. Small loading terminals should help firms use rail. The Elbe should stay a natural river.

The strategy would be developed with neighboring countries, other states and the federal government. Lines would be electrified and gaps in the network closed. Railports, meaning smaller terminals, would give firms with small shipping volumes access to rail; an online platform would provide information on subsidies. A slot system would better manage truck traffic to Eastern Europe. Because low water is becoming more frequent, inland shipping and rail would be more closely combined for transit to the Czech Republic, with suitable vessels. Funding for cargo bikes for last-mile delivery would be made permanent and expanded.

The Greens want to launch a cycling drive and close the gaps in the bike path network between regional centers by 2032. At least ten euros per person per year would go into cycling and walking. The guiding principle is "Vision Zero," meaning no traffic deaths.

The Greens want more and safer bike paths. By 2032 the network should have no gaps. The state should spend at least ten euros per person each year on this. Sidewalks should get better too. No one should die in traffic.

Gaps along state and federal roads would be closed, including municipal paths, and fast cycle routes set up between major and mid-sized centers. Each branch of the state road and transport office would get a cycling officer. Funding for municipal bike path construction would rise; a new mobility funding guideline would bundle support for cycling, walking and transit and also cover road safety measures. Also planned are a bike-and-ride program, bike parking garages and rental stations. State employees could use job bikes, and state buildings would get bike parking and charging facilities.

The Greens want to support the shift to electric mobility with a state charging-infrastructure drive, especially in rural areas. Saxony is to become a lead market for future-ready vehicles. Car sharing in smaller towns would be subsidized.

The Greens want more charging stations for electric cars. People in rural areas should find one quickly too. In parking garages, people should be able to park and charge. Saxony should keep building cars for the future. Small towns should get more car sharing. That means people share cars.

After the big cities, the charging network would now cover all rural regions, including fast chargers. Spaces in parking garages and underground lots would gradually get charging points instead of using public space for parking. Smart charging management would make good use of renewable energy for transport. A strategy dialogue with municipalities, associations and companies would accompany the auto industry's transition. The party wants incentives for vehicles with alternative drives, preferably fully electric.

The Greens want to maintain existing roads rather than build new ones. All new construction and widening projects would be reviewed, including for compatibility with climate targets. The party rejects widening the A4 highway from Dresden to Görlitz.

The Greens would rather repair old roads than build new ones. Every planned new road should be checked. Does it fit the climate goals? The A4 highway should not get wider. Bike paths and trees should line the roads.

Planned road projects would be reviewed for purpose, effectiveness, cost-efficiency and climate compatibility. Instead of widening the A4, the platform relies on more freight by rail, temporary use of the shoulder as a lane and modern traffic management. All new and widened roads would get accompanying bike paths. The decline of roadside avenue trees is to be reversed and tree-lined roads further supported.

The Greens stand by the goal of zero traffic deaths. Municipalities should find it easier to order speed limits around schools, daycare centers and similar places. On state and federal roads, speed limits and more checks are planned where safety requires it.

The Greens want safe roads. No one should die in traffic. Cars should drive slower near schools and daycare centers. Towns should be able to set this more easily. Some major roads should get speed limits and more checks.

The platform notes that traffic deaths in Saxony rose again in 2023. A guidance document would help local traffic authorities order speed restrictions around schools, daycare centers, playgrounds and senior homes. On state and federal roads, new traffic management solutions would also be tested and protective lanes for cyclists marked. A statewide campaign would promote road safety.