Grüne on transport

The Greens want to make transport in the state climate-neutral by 2035 and cut emissions by 70 percent by 2030. A mobility transition law would create the legal framework and set binding expansion targets for walking, cycling and public transit.

The Greens want a new law for transport. More people should walk, cycle or take buses and trains. By 2035, transport should no longer harm the climate. The road-building agency should look after all kinds of transport.

The law would bring fixed expansion targets and a statewide planning standard for footpaths and bike paths. Responsibilities of planning authorities are to be pooled, and pilot projects enabled through an innovation clause. The state road construction agency would become a state agency for the mobility transition, giving priority to bike highways and bike paths. Training for planning professions is to be expanded, including courses on intersectional perspectives. Close cooperation with Hamburg is planned in the metropolitan region.

The Greens want to allow municipalities to levy a local transit charge. It would pay for solidarity-based mobility services, such as a mobility pass modeled on the one in Baden-Württemberg.

Towns and villages should be allowed to collect a new charge. The money should go to buses and trains. With it they can offer a mobility pass, for example. Such a pass exists in Baden-Württemberg.

The new options are to be written into the mobility transition law. Municipalities would decide for themselves whether to create such services and introduce the charge. The revenue would belong to the municipalities as their own funds.

The Greens want a mobility guarantee with minimum service standards: every day from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., a transport option should be available everywhere in the state. The aim is for more people to switch from their own car to public transit.

The Greens want a guarantee for getting around. Everyone should be able to travel daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. In the countryside, on-call buses and shared cars should help. One app should show all options.

Higher minimum standards would apply in densely populated areas. Gaps in rural areas and at off-peak times are to be closed by digital on-demand services and car and bike sharing, integrated into affordable transit fares. The plan includes guaranteed connections, frequent service, mobility hubs and an app with one door-to-door ticket. The financial "rescue umbrella" for transit operators is to continue.

The Greens want a rail pact focused on network expansion, reactivating lines and electrification. By 2030 at the latest, all rail traffic is to run electrically. Rail lines should no longer be decommissioned.

The Greens want more rail in the state. Old lines should be used again. By 2030, no diesel trains should run on the timetable. The state should take over unused lines.

The expert report on optimizing rail transport is to be implemented in the next state transit plan, and projects scheduled only for after 2027 are to be sped up. Priority goes to congested corridors and diversion routes. Unused lines would pass into state ownership, and a railway development company is under consideration. Money from the Municipal Transport Financing Act is to be used for reactivations, and RegioTram concepts accelerated. Where overhead lines are not possible, other emission-free drives are to run for the time being.

The Greens want to make public transit more attractive with reliable schedules, better stations and simpler fares. The BahnCard 50 discount card is to be valid in the state's SH fare system, and a joint fare zone with Hamburg is to be created.

Buses and trains should become more pleasant. The BahnCard 50 should count in the state fare. There should be a shared fare with Hamburg. Stations should get weather shelters and Wi-Fi.

In the long run the joint fare zone is also meant to cover northern Germany and southern Denmark. Spa visitor cards would count as transit tickets in tourist areas, and the same is being considered for admission tickets. Stations and stops are to get weather shelters and Wi-Fi, among other things, and their surroundings with bike paths and footpaths are to improve. Taking bikes on trains, ferries and intercity buses is to be made more attractive. The state is also to be better linked to the European night train network.

The Greens want freight and heavy-goods transport to become climate-neutral quickly. Their priority is avoiding traffic and moving freight from road to rail. For the truck traffic that remains, the platform relies on electric drives, green hydrogen and synthetic fuels.

The Greens want more goods to travel by train. They want more loading points and rail links for companies. Trucks should only drive short distances. The remaining trucks should run without diesel.

Loading points and company rail sidings are to be reactivated or newly built, and new large business parks and logistics centers are to get a rail connection. More high-capacity terminals are meant to strengthen combined transport so that, in the long run, trucks are no longer needed on routes over 50 kilometers. At the federal level, the Greens want a plan for regionalizing rail freight. They want to expand the E-Highway field trial on the A1 into an "E-Highway-Nord" together with neighboring northern states. Expansion is to include early public participation and noise protection.

The Greens want to introduce an education ticket that is valid around the clock across the state and costs 365 euros a year. It is meant to ease travel costs for young people and their families and make the shift to sustainable mobility more affordable.

The Greens want a new ticket for young people. It costs 365 euros a year. It works in the whole state at any time. Families should pay less for travel.

The ticket is aimed at school students, apprentices, people doing voluntary service and everyone under 21 in Schleswig-Holstein. The Greens also seek a 50 percent discount for people with low household incomes. The platform argues that school transport costs are often covered only partly or not at all, which burdens families. The state is to provide start-up funding.

The Greens want to invest heavily in bike paths and parking facilities, including at the municipal level. Bike paths are to be in the same good condition as the road next to them. The platform sees the bicycle as a low-cost, emission-free means of transport.

The Greens want to spend a lot of money on cycling. Bike paths should be as good as the roads next to them. There should be more safe parking for bikes. The party also wants to support bike rental.

Funding is to go to cycling facilities that meet the current German design guidelines for bike infrastructure (ERA), and approving bicycle streets is to become much simpler. Whenever a road is repaired, the bike path is to be renovated too and made barrier-free where possible; new two-way paths must be wide enough for cargo bikes and handbikes. Protected bike lanes and sufficient bike parking are to be enabled through changes to building and road law. Funding programs are planned for covered, lockable bike parking and for regional bike-rental systems. Suitable farm tracks are to be added to the cycling network, and state-owned buildings are to set an example with parking, showers and changing rooms.

The Greens want to promote walking as a climate-friendly and healthy way to cover short distances. Sidewalks are to be wide, barrier-free and separated from bike traffic. Pedestrians' rights are to be strengthened at every level.

The Greens want to make walking easier. Sidewalks should be wide and free of obstacles. Bikes should ride separately. Dark underpasses should disappear.

The platform lists more crossing aids, lower speeds and traffic signals that give pedestrians priority. Tactile guidance systems and double crossings are meant to help people with sensory or mobility impairments. Places that feel unsafe, such as dark underpasses, are to be removed, with smart lighting as one tool. Planning is also to take the needs of children and young people into account.

The Greens want private cars to play a smaller role in transport and to run emission-free. To that end, charging infrastructure and car sharing are to be expanded. The number of cars is to fall thanks to attractive public transport options.

The Greens want fewer cars on the road. Cars should no longer produce exhaust. So there should be more charging stations. Sharing cars should also become easier.

The platform notes that Schleswig-Holstein leads Germany in new electric car registrations and wants to build on that position. The expansion of charging infrastructure explicitly includes solutions for apartment buildings. Car sharing is to be secured long-term and extended in both urban and rural areas. The Greens also want to keep supporting the conversion of diesel buses to electric drive.

The Greens want to direct funding primarily to public transport and rail, arguing that the state's road network is already well developed. They oppose new federal highways. State roads are to be maintained rather than newly built.

The Greens do not want new highways in the state. The money should go to buses and trains instead. The state should look after its roads. It should not build new state roads.

Decisions on federal highways rest with the federal government; the Greens point to the dialogue process and the review of the requirements plan agreed in the federal coalition agreement. In that context they restate their criticism of extending the A 20 beyond its link to the A 7 and of widening the A 23. For state roads, the principle is to preserve what exists.

The Greens pursue the goal of zero deaths in road traffic. To get there, they want to push, wherever possible, for a limit of 80 km/h on rural roads and 30 km/h in built-up areas.

The Greens want no one to die in traffic anymore. So cars should drive more slowly. On country roads the limit should be 80 km/h. In towns the limit should be 30 km/h.

The platform calls the goal "Vision Zero," meaning no traffic deaths. The Greens want to use the wider leeway in road traffic law that the new federal government has announced. Municipalities that want to run pilot projects with area-wide 30 km/h limits are to be supported.

The Greens want all of the state's larger ports to operate climate-neutrally by 2035. Port operations are to become emission-free, and climate-neutral ship propulsion is to become a requirement in the long run. The party rejects further deepening of rivers and canals.

The Greens want clean ports by 2035. Ports should then no longer harm the climate. Ships should be able to charge power or fill up with hydrogen there. Rivers and canals should not be made deeper.

The "World Ports Climate Action Program" is to be implemented on a binding basis. Charging infrastructure for fully electric ships is to be available from 2025, along with refueling infrastructure for green hydrogen. Ships that score well on the Environmental Ship Index are to get advantages, and Emission Control Areas (ECA) are to be extended. The Greens reject deepening or widening waterways such as the Elbe-Lübeck Canal, citing poor economic viability and ecosystem protection, while waterways like the Kiel Canal are to be maintained regularly. Ferries for cyclists and pedestrians are to run emission-free.