SPD on transport

The SPD wants every school student to receive a Deutschlandticket (nationwide public transit pass). Children and teenagers, especially in rural areas, should be able to get around independently, safely, and affordably. On-demand and night buses as well as bike paths would also be expanded.

All school students should get a Deutschlandticket. This is a pass for buses and trains. There should be more on-call buses and night buses. Safe bike paths also matter to the SPD.

The platform describes mobility as a precondition for participation, particularly in rural areas. In addition to the student ticket, young people would be involved in planning local public transit so that schedules and connections fit their daily lives. Modern on-demand and night bus systems would be expanded as a supplement. The SPD calls well-built bike paths essential for young people without a driver's license.

The SPD wants reliable, affordable public transit in every region and sets a mobility guarantee as the goal. The Deutschlandticket is to be secured for the long term and subsidized for seniors. Transit contracts are to be tied to collective bargaining agreements.

The SPD wants good buses and trains across the whole state. Everyone should be able to get around everywhere. The Deutschlandticket should stay affordable. Older people should get money toward it. Students and trainees should ride for free later on.

The plan includes keeping the existing tram networks, funding new trams and buses, and helping cities and counties make stops accessible. In the longer run, the SPD aims for free travel for school students, trainees and people doing voluntary service; their transport is not to be paid from Regionalisierungsmittel (federal funds for regional rail). Following the example of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the state would subsidize seniors' Deutschlandticket subscriptions by about 20 euros a month. Transit services would be awarded only to providers that apply the relevant collective agreements.

The SPD wants the state to run rail services itself through a joint company with Deutsche Bahn, dropping competitive tenders. According to the platform, this would save money and give employees security. Rail service is also to be expanded.

The state should run its trains itself. To do this, it should set up a company together with Deutsche Bahn. The SPD says this saves money and protects jobs. There should be more trains and new stops. No rail line should be closed.

Until the company is in place, staff would transfer on the same terms whenever the operator changes. Plans include more capacity on busy regional lines, keeping connections such as the RB 20, reopening closed lines and adding stops; the SPD rejects line closures. Magdeburg is to get a strong ICE long-distance connection, and the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland network and the Harz narrow-gauge railway would be supported. Stations are to become accessible transfer hubs with real-time information and park-and-ride facilities.

The SPD wants to permanently spend at least a tenth of the state's road construction money on walking and cycling. A seamless statewide cycling network is to be built. The money is to go where routes are unsafe or missing.

The SPD wants more money for sidewalks and bike paths. At least a tenth of the road money should go there. A network of bike paths should cover the whole state. Bikes can still travel for free on regional trains.

The cycling network includes safe routes to school, links between towns, bike facilities at stations and fast cycle routes around the larger cities. Where possible, pedestrians, cyclists and cars are to be physically separated. The association of bicycle-friendly municipalities (AGFK) would get more funding, and coordination offices would be set up or developed further. Bike parking would be funded, and municipalities would get help against bike theft at transfer points. Cycling tourism, for example along the Elbe and Saale, is to be developed further.

The SPD wants to clear the investment backlog for roads and bridges, giving priority to repairs. Certain new construction projects are to go ahead anyway. The goal of zero road deaths (Vision Zero) is also to be pursued quickly.

The SPD wants to fix broken roads and bridges. Repairs come before new building. Some new bridges and roads should still be built. Traffic should become safer. Getting a driver's license should cost less.

New projects named in the platform are Elbe bridges near Havelberg, Barby and Aken, the A 14, A 143 and A 38 projects, the eastern bypass for Magdeburg, and local bypasses. Accident hot spots are to be removed and federal funds used in full. Driver's licenses are to become cheaper, and charging points for electric cars are to be expanded. For safety, the SPD wants to strengthen traffic education and road safety associations, revise the decree on school routes and develop the road safety advisory board.

The SPD wants to strengthen the state as a logistics hub while moving more freight onto rail and waterways. Leipzig/Halle Airport is to manage without permanent subsidies and cause less noise and CO2. Towns hit hardest by aircraft noise would receive money from a special fund.

The SPD wants more goods to travel by train and ship. Leipzig/Halle Airport should not get permanent money from the state. It should become quieter. Towns with a lot of aircraft noise should get money. Truck drivers should get better rest stops.

Disused rail sidings are to be reopened, and companies would get help switching to rail. The special fund, modeled on Saxony's, would pay for social infrastructure in the municipalities most affected by noise. Ports and waterways of statewide importance would be funded, the overall Elbe plan continued, and the SPD rejects downgrading the Saale. For truck drivers, the plan lists more parking spaces, free toilets, showers, Wi-Fi and charging points.