Linke on transport

The Left wants to redesign the vehicle tax so that large and heavy vehicles cost considerably more. The program sees no need for ordinary passenger cars weighing over two tons.

The Left wants to change the tax on cars. Large and heavy cars should be taxed much more. The party says normal cars do not need to weigh more than two tons.

The program also argues that lighter vehicles put less strain on roads. This is meant to save the state money on road maintenance. The demand is linked to the planned conversion of the auto industry.

The Left wants to set up a transport infrastructure fund covering all modes of transport, modeled on Switzerland. Investment would no longer depend on the annual federal budget and would be reliable over the long term.

The Left wants a fixed pot of money for roads, rail and waterways. Switzerland is the model. The money is set for several years. That makes planning easier.

The fund is meant to cover the large investment needs of transport infrastructure. Each mode of transport would get its own multi-year budget. Funding would thus be independent of the federal government's yearly budget talks. The platform argues that alternatives to cars and planes have to work for everyone.

The Left wants to bring back the 9-euro ticket immediately and introduce a 0-euro ticket for schoolchildren, apprentices, students and seniors. In the long run, local public transit should be free nationwide. The platform points out that the 9-euro ticket reduced car trips.

The Left wants the 9-euro ticket back. Schoolchildren, apprentices, students and older people pay nothing. Later, buses and trains should be free for all. The commuter tax break becomes a mobility payment.

Children, bicycles and dogs would travel at no extra charge. Subscribers would get six free long-distance trips a year. The commuter tax allowance would be replaced by a mobility payment. The party wants to scrap the company car tax break, which in its view helps wealthy people buy expensive cars. State-level rules would be made uniform nationwide, and exempting local transit from VAT is meant to free up money quickly.

The Left wants a right to sustainable mobility: every locality should be served by bus or rail at least once an hour during the day. Privatized local transit companies would return to public ownership because, in the party's view, transit must not be left to the market.

Every town should have a bus or train each hour. Something should run at night too. Private bus and rail firms should belong to the public again. Drivers should get better pay.

Community buses and shared on-call taxis can supplement basic service, and on-demand options are possible at night. Public and nonprofit car sharing would be supported. To double ridership by 2030, the platform expects a need for 150,000 more drivers in local transit and tens of thousands more at the railway. Pay and working conditions, such as breaks and toilets, are to improve for that purpose. The party does not expect autonomous driving to solve transport problems anytime soon.

The Left wants to keep the EU-wide end of new combustion-engine car sales and backs electric cars. It sees e-fuels and biofuels as unrealistic for private cars because they are scarce, expensive and inefficient.

New gas and diesel cars should end as planned. The Left backs electric cars. It thinks synthetic fuels are too costly and too scarce. Some groups should get help buying an electric car.

The party justifies this with planning certainty for consumers and industry. It rejects biofuel imports; biofuels are acceptable to it only if made regionally from waste or residues and not competing with food. Support for efficient electric cars would be given as needed to tradespeople, social services, taxi firms, small businesses and low-income people in rural areas.

The Left calls for a speed limit of 120 km/h on autobahns and 30 km/h in built-up areas, except on main traffic arteries. It cites the protection of people and the climate.

The top speed on autobahns should be 120 km/h. In towns it should be 30 km/h. Big main roads are exempt. This is meant to protect people and the climate.

The party commits to Vision Zero, the goal that no one is killed or injured in traffic. It also supports the school street model, in which streets in front of schools are temporarily closed to cars. This is also meant to make the way to school safer.

The Left wants Deutsche Bahn run as a public-interest, integrated company rather than a profit-driven stock corporation. The network would be repaired, electrified and expanded; in return, no new or wider autobahns would be built. Train travel should also get cheaper.

The railway should serve people and not have to make a profit. Tracks should be repaired and new ones built. In return, no new autobahns get built. Train tickets should cost less.

By 2030, rail should carry at least a quarter of freight and passenger rail traffic should double. Closed lines would be reopened, everything made accessible, and costly prestige projects avoided; road building would focus on maintaining what exists. To lower fares, the party wants to obligate the railway, cut track access charges and the tax on traction power, and drop VAT on local and long-distance transit. Big cities would get hourly long-distance trains and night trains across Europe. Staff would get shorter periods away from home and more compensatory time off.

The Left wants to ban flights shorter than 500 kilometers or five hours by train, as well as private jets. Aviation would be taxed more heavily, including through an EU-wide kerosene tax and a frequent flyer tax. The party speaks of a race to the bottom in aviation and of climate-damaging luxury.

Short flights should be banned. Private jets and very large yachts should be banned too. People who fly often pay an extra tax. Jet fuel should be taxed across the EU.

The platform considers new airport capacity unnecessary. Full VAT would apply to tickets for international flights. The frequent flyer tax would replace a flat price increase via the carbon price, so that occasional family visits abroad are not burdened like frequent short trips. Yachts longer than 60 meters would be banned, and air taxis would get no public subsidies.

The Left wants less freight moved by truck and more by rail and inland shipping. It points to dilapidated bridges not designed for today's truck volumes. Ports should stay in public hands and get more federal funding.

Fewer trucks should carry goods. More goods should go by train and ship. Ports should not be sold to private firms. Truck drivers should get good rest stops.

The party rejects extra-long trucks and overhead power lines for trucks. Rail sidings, local logistics hubs and regional economic cycles would be supported; hauls under 300 kilometers should also go by rail more often. Waterways would be repaired and ships run on electricity where possible. For seaports, national port planning and rail links to the hinterland are planned. Rest stops would again be run in the public interest, and working conditions across freight transport should improve.

The Left wants car-free city centers, with exceptions such as deliveries and people with special needs. Walking and cycling should be safe everywhere, and a bicycle network should cover the whole country.

The Left wants city centers without cars. There are exceptions, for example for deliveries. There should be more safe paths for bikes and walkers. Everyday shops should be a 15-minute walk away.

Exceptions to the car ban apply to delivery traffic and people with special needs. Shops and services for daily needs should be reachable on foot within a quarter of an hour everywhere. The plan includes more space on the streets, more intact bike paths and sidewalks, and more bicycle parking. In addition, a bicycle network would cover all of Germany.