With around twelve billion euros, Deutsche Bahn wants to make local transport fit for the future and offer more customer-friendly trains. For the Pro Bahn passenger association, the investment is just a beginning.
Deutsche Bahn wants to invest around twelve billion euros in local transport. Of this, more than eleven billion euros will flow into more modern trains and 900 million euros into new buses by 2030, as the state-owned company (DB) announced at the “Zukunft Nahverkehr” industry trade fair in Berlin.
The exhibition shows “how everyday mobility can be raised to a new level,” said Evelyn Palla, the CEO responsible for regional transport. “To do this, we need simple and convenient door-to-door mobility solutions, customer-friendly buses and trains, as well as digital information and ticketing solutions that cover the entire travel chain.” After the launch of the Deutschlandticket, it is now important to increase the availability of local public transport (ÖPNV).
According to the passenger association , the amount is not sufficient in the long term
“The investment is a start and it is good that it has been recognized that more money is needed for local transport,” commented Detlef Neuß, federal chairman of the Pro Bahn passenger association, in an interview with tagesschau.de . “In the long term, however, the amount is not sufficient.” “Significantly more is needed” than twelve billion euros to establish the Deutschlandticket and thus rail travel as a permanent alternative to the car.
Ultimately, more staff are required in the transport companies and greater capacities among the manufacturers. “Electric buses currently have delivery times of more than half a year,” says Neuß. Therefore, the railway cannot implement its goals directly, but needs time to do so.
“Door-to-door everyday mobility” as the goal of the railway
Driverless on-call buses, travel companions via app or regional buses with toilets: This week the Deutsche Bahn trade fair is focusing on the future of local transport in Germany. “We want to get away from the sometimes somewhat outdated and dusty image that local transport has,” said DB board member Palla. “We need a better, more customer-oriented offer that encompasses entire mobility chains and goes much further into door-to-door everyday mobility.” More digital offerings are also needed.
There are many plans for the public transport of the future, more digitalization and ideas for more service. This includes artificial intelligence such as the Bowie chatbot, which is intended to support customers with travel planning and ticket purchasing. There should also be trains that make traveling easier for people with mobility and sensory impairments. More modern buses that are equipped with WiFi and toilets should be used in rail replacement services.
Autonomous shuttles from 2025
At the opening of the trade fair, the railway also announced collaborations with manufacturers of autonomous shuttles. With these vehicles, the group wants to connect rural areas to the nearest train stations better and more flexibly. Specifically, DB plans to work with the companies Schaeffler, VDL Groep and Holon on the research and development of autonomous transport.
“Starting in 2025, manufacturers will bring new public transport vehicles onto the road that will be fully automated,” the statement said. This applies to so-called level 4, where no driver is anymore necessary to monitor the system. Prototypes can currently be seen at the partner trade fair, the IAA Mobility , in Munich.
Source : Tages Schau
