What do the parties in North Rhine-Westphalia say on transport?

The AfD rejects government subsidies for buying electric cars, charging stations and hydrogen buses. Instead, research funding should be open to all drive technologies on equal terms.

Today the state pays part of the price when someone buys an electric car. The AfD wants to stop that. It says mostly people with a lot of money buy these cars. Research money should be open to all kinds of engines.

The AfD wants to give transport policy priority in the state budget in the short and medium term and, above all, repair state roads. It rejects policies that favor or disadvantage particular modes of transport and stresses free choice of how to travel.

The AfD wants more money for roads and transport routes. Broken state roads should be fixed first. Everyone should choose freely how to travel. Citizens should vote on big transport questions.

The AfD wants to protect, promote and keep car travel affordable. It rejects diesel driving bans, access-metering traffic lights and environmental lanes, relying instead on digital traffic management and free-flowing traffic.

The AfD wants to protect driving. Driving should stay affordable. The party rejects driving bans for diesel cars. Traffic lights should be set so that traffic keeps moving.

The AfD wants to make preserving road bridges in North Rhine-Westphalia a top priority and have older bridges inspected immediately. The federal government should pay the full cost of repairing the Rhine bridges to relieve cash-strapped municipalities.

Many bridges in the state are old. The AfD wants them checked right away. The bridges over the Rhine should be repaired first. The federal government should pay for this.

The AfD wants punctual and safe local transit and wants to keep the existing structure of three regional transit authorities. Connections should be better coordinated, and transit operators, public order offices and police should jointly tackle crime.

Buses and trains should be on time and safe. The AfD wants changing between them to work better. Police and transit companies should work together against crime. Drivers should not pay more for this.

The AfD considers one-sided support for electric vehicles a mistake and wants to keep the combustion engine. It rejects the Euro 7 emissions standard because, in its view, it amounts to a ban on combustion engines.

The AfD wants to keep gasoline and diesel cars. It thinks it is wrong to support only electric cars. It rejects a strict new EU rule on exhaust. The car industry should stay in Germany.

The AfD wants to revive air travel in North Rhine-Westphalia after the COVID crisis and, via the Bundesrat, permanently abolish the aviation tax. It rejects a night flight ban at Cologne/Bonn, and Düsseldorf should get a new operating permit.

The AfD wants to strengthen air travel in the state. The tax on plane tickets should go away. Planes should still be allowed to fly at night at Cologne/Bonn. Düsseldorf airport should be able to offer more flights.

The CDU wants to turn public transit into a real alternative to driving. Larger municipalities are to get a rail or express bus link, regional trains are to run every 15 minutes as a baseline, and bus and on-demand services are to grow statewide.

The CDU wants more buses and trains. Every town with 20,000 people or more should get a train or a fast bus. Trains should run every 15 minutes. Buses that you can order should be available everywhere.

The CDU wants to connect the various transport options more closely, both digitally and on the ground. It plans a single app for all modes of transport, 1,000 more mobility hubs, and a discounted monthly ticket for older people.

The CDU wants to link buses, trains, bikes and shared cars better. One app should work for all trips. There should be 1,000 new mobility hubs. People can change easily there. Older people should get a ticket for 30 euros a month.

The CDU wants to expand the bike path network so that a quarter of all trips are made by bicycle in the future. At least 1,000 kilometers of new bike paths are to be built within five years. It also stands by the goal that no one should be harmed in road traffic.

The CDU wants to build more bike paths. In five years there should be at least 1,000 kilometers more. People should make one in four trips by bike. People on foot and on bikes should be safer.

The CDU wants to work with the federal government to move more freight from roads onto trains and inland ships. To that end, the rail network is to be expanded, freight yards modernized and canal bridges raised. The program justifies this with the industrial region's need for a resilient logistics network.

The CDU wants more goods to travel by train and ship. For this, the rail network should get better. Bridges over canals should be raised. Then ships can carry more containers.

The CDU wants to keep spending on state roads at its current high level and build more town bypasses. In its view, roads, bridges and tunnels in good condition are a basis for growth and mobility, and less through traffic improves quality of life in towns.

The CDU wants to keep spending a lot of money on roads. It wants to build roads that go around towns. Then fewer cars drive through the town. There should be more parking for trucks.

The CDU wants to further shorten and digitize planning, permitting and construction procedures. It calls on the federal government to replace the bridges on autobahns and federal roads in the state as quickly as possible. A recruitment drive at universities is meant to bring in more planning professionals.

The CDU wants roads and bridges to be planned and built faster. Offices should do more of this work digitally. The federal government should rebuild broken bridges quickly. More young people should train as planners.

The CDU sees the electric motor as the drive system of the future and wants to expand subsidies for charging stations so that electric mobility works in everyday life across the state. In addition, other technologies such as e-fuels and fuel cells are to be funded on a technology-neutral basis.

The CDU wants to fund more charging stations for electric cars. Everyone should be able to charge, in cities and in the countryside. The CDU also wants to support other ways to power vehicles. These include man-made fuels. They are called e-fuels.

The CDU wants to retain the airports spread across the state. It intends to decide how air traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia should develop based on the aviation strategy announced by the federal government, taking into account climate protection and noise protection for residents.

The CDU wants to keep the many airports in the state. It wants to wait for a plan from the federal government first. Then it will decide about air traffic. Protecting the climate and limiting noise should matter in that decision.

The FDP wants North Rhine-Westphalia to remain Germany's leading logistics location. To that end, ports are to be expanded as hubs and a logistics strategy drawn up for the state. This is meant to strengthen supply chains and secure supplies for industry.

The FDP wants to strengthen goods transport in the state. The ports should grow. Ships, trains and trucks meet there. The state should make a plan for logistics. Logistics means storing and moving goods.

The FDP wants to keep investing in maintaining and expanding the road network and to strengthen all modes of transport equally. Climate-neutral road mobility is to be reached in a technology-neutral way and without bans, including through more charging infrastructure.

The FDP wants to repair roads and build new ones. Road works should cause fewer delays. There should be more charging points for electric cars, also in rural areas. The party does not want bans on certain vehicles.

The FDP wants to make regional rail more reliable and expand capacity for commuters and freight. This includes upgrade projects, a review of reopening disused lines, and rebuilding the Eifel line.

The FDP wants trains to run more reliably. There should be more room on the tracks for people and goods. Old lines may be used again. The Eifel line should be rebuilt quickly after the flood.

The FDP wants to move more freight from roads to rivers and canals and to draw up a state waterways strategy for this purpose. It justifies this with climate protection and less congestion.

The FDP wants more goods to travel by ship. Then fewer trucks drive on the roads. This should help the climate and prevent traffic jams. The state should make a plan for rivers and canals.

The FDP wants to keep investment in bike paths at the level reached and create a statewide network. It is to connect all larger cities and link regional routes with municipal ones.

The FDP wants to build more bike paths. A network should connect all larger cities. There should also be more bike parking. The party welcomes e-scooters.

The FDP wants to preserve the state's regional airports and night flights at Cologne. At the same time, noise protection for residents is to be expanded, and air taxis are to become a regular service within five years.

The FDP wants to keep the small airports in the state. Planes should still be allowed to fly at night in Cologne. In return, there should be less noise for neighbors. Air taxis should fly regularly in five years.

The FDP wants to redesign local public transit around the customer: one uniform fare system statewide, digital access by app, and on-demand services everywhere, especially in rural areas. The structure of the transit associations is to be reviewed and the ride-service market opened to more competition.

The FDP wants to make buses and trains simpler to use. One fare system should apply in the whole state. People should be able to board anywhere with a phone app. In rural areas, buses should come when ordered. This is called on-demand.

The FDP wants infrastructure projects to be planned and approved faster, especially major rail projects and bridge replacements such as on the A45 autobahn. To that end, red tape is to be cut and the right to sue tied to raising objections early.

The FDP wants roads, bridges, and rail lines to be built faster. There should be less red tape. People who want to sue should have to raise objections early. The A45 bridge should be rebuilt especially fast.

The Greens want to lower greenhouse gas emissions from transport. A bicycle law, a climate review for road construction projects and stronger expansion of bus and rail are meant to achieve this.

Transport should harm the climate less. The Greens want a law for cycling. New roads should be checked for climate harm first. Buses and trains should get more support. Villages should be well connected too.

The Greens aim for a guarantee that everyone in the state has a reliable bus or train connection at least once an hour during the day. A solidarity-financed ticket for all of North Rhine-Westphalia would be phased in, starting with free travel for young people up to 18. According to the platform, today's 8.5 percent share of trips is not enough to meet the transport climate target.

The Greens want buses and trains to run regularly everywhere. There should be a connection at least once an hour. In big cities, every half hour. There should be one ticket for the whole state. Everyone pays for it together. Children and teens up to 18 should ride free first.

The Greens want to double per-capita investment in buses, trains, tracks and stations, reactivate rail lines and stop closing lines. New state roads would be built only in exceptional cases, and far fewer highways and federal roads would be newly built or widened. The platform wants to prioritize buses, trains, cycling and walking and puts climate protection and quality of life at the center.

The Greens want to spend much more money on buses and trains. Old rail lines should be used again. New roads should rarely be built. The money should go to broken roads, rail, bike paths and footpaths. Car-free city centers should become possible.

The Greens want to set up regional express bus lines across the state by 2025 and invest in an emission-free bus service. Climate-friendly drive systems would become mandatory in local transit plans. This is meant to speed up the transport transition in urban and rural areas.

The Greens want express buses everywhere by 2025. These buses connect towns and cities quickly. Buses should no longer produce exhaust. Cities get money for such buses. Buses should get their own lanes.

The Greens want to raise the bicycle's share of all trips from about 8 percent to at least 25 percent by 2035. An improved cycling law and a statewide network of bike highways and priority routes are planned for this. Municipalities would also get help with a strategy for pedestrian traffic.

The Greens want many more people to ride bikes. By 2035, one in four trips should be by bike. There should be a network of fast bike paths across the state. People on foot should also get safe paths without obstacles.

For cars, the Greens are betting on electric drive and want charging options everywhere within five years. Public vehicle fleets would switch to renewable drive systems by 2030 at the latest. The platform notes that rural families and businesses still depend on having their own car.

The Greens want more electric cars. In 5 years there should be charging stations everywhere. Companies with charging stations should pay less tax. Government vehicles should run without gasoline or diesel by 2030.

The Greens want to connect all modes of transport and build a single booking platform within five years. Households would get a bonus for switching to public transit or cycling. The platform expects this to give people a free choice among transport modes.

The Greens want to link buses, trains, bikes and rental vehicles better. In 5 years there should be one booking platform for everything. Stations should make changing easier. People who switch to buses, trains or bikes should get money. Buses, trains and stops should be free of barriers.

The Greens want municipalities to be able to make 30 km/h the default in built-up areas, with 50 km/h only in justified exceptions. Speed limits on highways and outside towns would be lowered. The platform cites higher accident risk and energy use at high speeds.

The Greens want cars to drive more slowly. In towns, 30 km/h should be able to be the rule. Cities decide where 50 km/h still applies. Speeds on highways and country roads should also go down. This should protect children, people on foot and cyclists.

After the pandemic, the Greens do not want a return to unlimited growth in air traffic but want to align it with the goal of climate neutrality. A sustainable air traffic plan would set the framework. The platform calls the airplane the most climate-damaging mode of transport and points to burdens on nearby residents.

The Greens do not want air travel to grow without limits. Flying should harm the climate less. Düsseldorf and Cologne-Bonn airports should blend in climate-friendly fuel. People living near airports should be better protected.

The Greens want to cut night flights and oppose any further expansion of airports in North Rhine-Westphalia. Public subsidies for airports from the state and municipalities are to end. The program cites noise protection and climate protection as reasons.

The Greens want fewer flights at night. No airport in the state should grow. The state and the cities should stop giving money to airports. Buses and trains should replace short flights.

The Greens want far more freight to move by rail and inland waterway and back the EU goal of shifting three quarters of road freight. Remaining truck traffic is to be emission-free by 2035. All suitable drive technologies are to receive support.

Today most goods travel by truck. The Greens want more goods to go by train and ship. The remaining trucks should run without emissions by 2035. The Greens want to support different drives, such as batteries and hydrogen.

The Greens want to bundle parcel delivery in cities and make it climate-neutral. City hubs are to be set up, and by 2030 every household is to have access to parcel lockers. This is meant to reduce traffic in residential areas.

More and more parcels are delivered to homes. The Greens want to build collection points for parcels in cities. From there, cargo bikes and electric vehicles should deliver them. By 2030, every household should have a parcel locker nearby.

The SPD aims for a broad transformation of transportation and wants to invest considerably more in public transit and transport infrastructure. A larger share of traffic is to move to buses, regional trains and long-distance rail so the state contributes to the climate targets for 2030 and 2045. North Rhine-Westphalia is also to become a hub for night trains.

The SPD wants to change how people travel in the state. More people should use buses and trains instead of cars. This should help the climate. The SPD wants to spend much more money on buses, trains and transport routes. More night trains should also run through NRW.

The SPD wants to give walking and cycling a much bigger role and to rebuild transport infrastructure for this, especially in municipalities. Bike path networks are to grow and bike highways are to be built quickly. The guiding goal is Vision Zero, meaning no deaths or serious injuries in road traffic.

The SPD wants to do more for people who walk or ride bikes. There should be more and better bike paths. Roads should become safer. The goal is that nobody dies or gets badly hurt in traffic. The state should give cities money for this.

The SPD wants a mobility guarantee that ensures everyone in the state can get from their front door to the nearest public transit connection, so rural areas benefit too. Rail lines are to be electrified, reopened and extended. A statewide app with per-kilometer billing is meant to make transit easier to use.

The SPD wants to make buses and trains better. Everyone should be able to get from home to the next bus or train. This also applies in the countryside. Old rail lines should run again. There should be one app for all of NRW. With it, people pay only for the kilometers they travel.

The SPD wants to give school students a free transit pass, raise state subsidies for the Sozialticket (reduced-fare pass for low-income riders) and cut the price of the trainee pass. In the long run, local transit is to be usable without a ticket and paid for through a shared levy, with a 365-euro annual pass as an interim step. Transit is to be expanded under public ownership.

The SPD wants to make buses and trains cheaper. School students should ride for free. Trainees should pay less. Later, nobody should need a ticket at all. Then everyone pays a shared fee for buses and trains. One step toward that is a pass for 365 euros a year.

The SPD wants to keep investing in the upkeep of state roads and to support municipalities in this, since roads remain the main mode of transport. It backs the federal transport infrastructure plan for 2030 and the rebuilding of the Rahmede valley bridge on the A45 highway. At the same time, more freight is to move to rail and waterways, and electric mobility is to be promoted.

Most people and goods travel by road. So the SPD wants to keep the state's roads in good shape. A broken highway bridge near Lüdenscheid should be rebuilt quickly. More goods should travel by train and ship. There should be more charging stations for electric cars.

The SPD wants to keep the state's decentralized airport system and keep the Cologne/Bonn cargo airport open around the clock. A state aviation plan is meant to give airports planning certainty, while residents are to be better protected from noise. At the federal and EU level, it wants to push for equal conditions across all modes of transport, for example on taxing jet fuel.

The SPD wants to keep the airports in NRW. Cologne/Bonn airport should always be open for cargo, even at night. People living nearby should be better protected from noise. Loud and dirty planes should pay higher fees. The SPD also wants jet fuel to be taxed.

The SPD wants to move considerably more freight from roads to waterways and to develop the state as a port and logistics location. It wants to press the federal government for faster repair and expansion of the waterways. A state funding program is meant to make inland shipping more environmentally friendly.

NRW has many rivers, canals and ports. The SPD wants more goods to travel by ship instead of by truck. Canals and locks should be repaired faster. Ports should have room to grow. Ships should produce less exhaust.

The SPD wants to support inland shipping operators based in North Rhine-Westphalia with a program of grants and loans. It also wants to press the federal government for tax changes that make shore power easier to use.

The SPD wants to help river shippers in North Rhine-Westphalia. They should get grants and loans. Ships should be able to use power from land more easily. Tax rules that stand in the way should go.