SPD on transport

The SPD wants to make getting a driver's license cheaper for young people. The state is to pay the administrative and exam fees when someone under 25 gets a license for the first time. The party also advocates a stable Deutschlandticket (nationwide public transit pass).

A driver's license should cost young people less. The state pays the office fees and the exam fees. This applies to everyone under 25 getting a first license. The SPD also wants to keep the Deutschlandticket, a transit pass for all of Germany.

The fees are covered for everyone who registers for the first time before turning 25. The program's reasoning is that mobility opens up opportunities in daily life, at work and in volunteering. The SPD sees affordable and sustainable transport options as a condition for equal opportunity, especially for young people.

The SPD wants to further reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads. To that end, technology that automatically detects phone use at the wheel and speeding is to be deployed statewide.

The SPD wants fewer deaths and injuries on the roads. Cameras should detect drivers using their phones. Technology should also catch speeding automatically. There should be more prevention work for older people.

The so-called Monocam, which detects phone use at the wheel, is to be used in all police headquarters. Each regional police headquarters is to get specialized crash investigation teams with modern equipment. Prevention work for senior citizens is to be expanded. Targeted prevention is also meant to reduce accidents involving e-bikes and e-scooters.

The SPD backs a range of major transport projects for roads, rail and bike paths, including the Middle Rhine bridge and a fixed Rhine crossing at Bingen-Rüdesheim. Key projects are to be planned until they are ready to build even without federal money committed, so the state can act quickly.

The SPD wants to move big transport building projects forward. These include bridges, highways, rail lines and bike paths. New bridges should be built over the Rhine. The state should finish planning projects even if federal money is still missing.

Projects named include the elevated road in Ludwigshafen, the Pfaffendorf bridge in Koblenz, the Lahn bridge, reactivating the Trier western rail line, upgrading the Homburg–Zweibrücken rail line, the Mainz–Bingen commuter route, the Moselle bike path, the Ahr valley bike path and new town bypasses. Priority also goes to projects in the federal transport infrastructure plan, such as the second Rhine bridge at Wörth and the expansion of the B10, B47, B50neu, B54, A61 and A6. Money from the federal special fund is to be used for local projects. The platform calls the Middle Rhine bridge a key project for the whole state.

The SPD wants to create a statewide app that bundles different transport services into one system. It is meant to make combining modes of transport easier and above all improve mobility in rural areas.

The SPD wants an app for getting around the whole state. The app shows buses, trains, shared cars, rental bikes and taxis together. This makes it easier to combine them. It should help most in rural areas.

The app is to link public transit, car sharing, ride sharing, volunteer-run community buses, rental bikes and taxis. It will also include real-time roadwork information and a digital pothole reporting tool. The SPD places the project within a new mobility culture that relies on digitization and also on on-demand services. The platform stresses that cars, buses, trains and bicycles should not be played off against one another.

The SPD wants to further increase investment in maintaining, expanding and modernizing state, county and municipal roads. Permits are to become simpler and planning times shorter. The state road agency Landesbetrieb Mobilität is to attract skilled workers with competitive pay.

The SPD wants to spend more money on roads and bridges. Roads should get better, especially in rural areas. Planning and permits should go faster. Broken bridges should be replaced more quickly. The state road agency should get good skilled workers.

A focus is on state roads and on roads, bridges and bike paths in rural areas. Digital planning procedures are meant to speed up projects, and replacement structures for dilapidated bridges are to be possible more quickly. Early maintenance is intended to avoid costly full renovations. The SPD advocates making the Investitionsbeschleunigungsgesetz (investment acceleration act) permanent. The Landesbetrieb Mobilität is to offer fair pay, secure jobs and benefits and get a more modern fleet with partly automated machines.

The SPD commits to the car, especially for rural regions, and wants to expand charging infrastructure for electric cars statewide. Alongside electric mobility, it considers climate-friendly fuels and bridging technologies such as efficient combustion engines and plug-in hybrids necessary to protect jobs in the auto industry.

The SPD says the car stays important, especially in rural areas. There should be charging points for electric cars everywhere. Other kinds of engines should also stay possible for a transition time. This should protect jobs in the car industry.

The platform calls electric mobility the key technology of the future and points to more than 6,000 public charging points in the state. Municipalities are to get support in planning and building charging infrastructure. Electric vehicles with range extenders are also named as supplementary technology. Carpool parking lots in rural areas are to be turned step by step into e-mobility stations with charging for cars and e-bikes. The state's official car fleet is to become low-emission over time, along with more car sharing and bike leasing for state employees.

The SPD wants to keep expanding the statewide bus and rail network and reintroduce the Rheinland-Pfalz-Takt (a regular-interval timetable) for rail. The state's five major regional centers are to get better links to long-distance trains. The platform describes local public transit as the backbone of climate-friendly mobility.

The SPD wants more buses and trains in the state. Trains should again run at fixed, regular times. The five big cities should get better links to long-distance trains. Buses and trains should be affordable and reliable.

Plans include a direct long-distance rail link from Trier toward North Rhine-Westphalia and from the Kaiserslautern region to the Rhine-Main area. The SPD advocates more rail connections across the Rhine in the Rhine-Main area and wants to strengthen cooperation among public transit authorities across state borders. A state local transit plan and a public transit index tracking cost trends are meant to secure reliable and affordable service. Funding is to benefit both heavily used routes and service in rural areas.

The SPD wants to reopen and electrify disused rail lines where there is demand and it makes economic sense. Single-track lines are to be upgraded to double track with federal help. The platform sees rail as the backbone of climate-friendly mobility.

The SPD wants to use old rail lines again. Trains there should run on electricity. Lines with only one track should get a second track. This should move more people and goods by train.

The Homburg–Zweibrücken line is to be back in service by 2028, and the Zellertalbahn is to be upgraded step by step. The Hunsrückquerbahn, Glantalbahn and Eifelquerbahn are to be reviewed for possible reopening. The "Studernheimer Kurve" link between Ludwigshafen and Frankenthal should be built quickly. The SPD wants to press the federal government and Deutsche Bahn to turn single-track lines into fully double-track, electrified routes and to give such projects funding priority. The aim is to shift freight to rail and improve connections for commuters.

The SPD wants to keep the Deutschlandticket (nationwide transit pass) permanently and at an affordable price, with predictable joint funding from the state and federal governments. Key bus routes are to be upgraded and tram infrastructure will continue to be funded.

The SPD wants to keep the Deutschlandticket. This is one ticket for local transit across Germany. It should stay affordable. The state and the federal government should pay for it together. Buses and trams should also get better.

The most important bus routes are to be made more visible and attractive as "Landeslinien" (state lines). The state is to keep co-funding tram infrastructure. The platform names the expansion of climate-friendly public transit as its top priority. For the Deutschlandticket, the SPD seeks reliable funding agreed with the federal government.

The SPD aims for local transit that everyone can use independently, regardless of age or disability. It also wants a volunteer-run community bus (Bürgerbus) in every Verbandsgemeinde (association of municipalities), mainly to keep older people mobile.

Everyone should be able to use buses and trains on their own. This includes people with disabilities. Stops are to be rebuilt for this. Every local district should have a community bus. This helps older people most.

Stops are to be rebuilt together with municipalities and transit associations, with tactile guidance, level boarding and safe waiting areas. Clear displays, audio announcements and accessible digital services are to become standard statewide. Disability organizations are to be involved early in planning. The SPD calls on the federal government for a program for run-down station buildings that also covers accessible restrooms. Community buses and similar services are to be expanded.

The SPD wants a state cycling law with clear responsibilities and quality standards and a bike path network without gaps. The state is to take over responsibility for bike highways. Bikes should travel free of charge on all regional trains.

The SPD wants a state law for cycling. It should say who is in charge of bike paths. Bike paths should be safe and have no gaps. The state should be in charge of fast bike routes. Bikes should ride for free on regional trains.

The network is meant to link cities and rural areas better. Bike paths are to be planned faster, built more efficiently and connected better. The platform builds on the cycling teams at the state mobility agency and on the statewide cycling development plan. State responsibility for bike highways is meant to keep them from stopping at municipal or county lines. The platform sees the bike as key for the trip between a transit stop and the destination.

The SPD wants to modernize the Rhine, Moselle and Saar and the inland ports to handle growing freight traffic. It cites growth, security of supply and climate protection. Key projects are deepening the Middle Rhine shipping channel and expanding the Moselle locks.

Many cargo ships use the Rhine, Moselle and Saar. The SPD wants to renew rivers, ports and locks. Ships should be able to sail even when water is low. The federal government should help and plan faster.

Together with the federal government, the state is to invest in quay walls, sheet piling and shore power; shore power is also meant to cut noise and exhaust for residents. The "Abladeoptimierung Mittelrhein" project is to be completed before 2030 so ships can run reliably at low water. All ten Moselle locks are to get a second chamber and priority in the federal transport plan. At the federal level, the SPD calls for fleet modernization, better funding terms for shipping companies and enough staff at the waterways administration. Rhineland-Palatinate is to become a model region for automated inland shipping.

The SPD wants to reduce noise from rail, road and air traffic. It calls for an alternative freight rail route outside the Middle Rhine Valley and a real say for the state on flight paths at Frankfurt Airport.

Many people suffer from noise from trains, cars and planes. The SPD wants to cut this noise. Freight trains should no longer run through the Middle Rhine Valley. Rhineland-Palatinate should have a say on flight paths from Frankfurt.

The alternative route is to be listed as an urgent need in the federal transport plan so that planning can start. For Frankfurt flight paths, noise protection is to carry the same weight as economic interests. The SPD demands more transparency and early public participation from the federal government. A "traffic noise task unit" is under consideration. Low-noise asphalt and other noise-reducing measures are planned for busy roads and through-roads in towns.

The SPD wants more 30 km/h zones in cities and towns and stands by the goal of zero road deaths by 2050. Safe routes to school and a stronger sense of safety while traveling are part of the plan.

More streets should have a speed limit of 30 km/h. This should protect people. By 2050, no one should die in road traffic. Children should get to school safely.

"Vision Zero" is to be reached through modern infrastructure, smart traffic management and more road safety education. Roundabouts are to replace traffic lights where that works efficiently. Safety, quality and reliability on school routes are to improve. To strengthen people's sense of safety, the platform lists better-lit paths, safe stops, reliable nighttime service and clear reporting channels.