Status: 03/03/2023 11:31 a.m
According to a forecast by the Ministry of Transport, road freight traffic is likely to increase sharply by 2051. Minister Wissing is therefore pushing for the expansion of roads, the Greens see climate protection goals at risk.
According to Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing, trucks will remain dominant in freight transport for decades to come. The FDP politician refers to a new study that the German Traffic volume up to the year 2051 forecast. The paper takes into account, among other things, a significant increase in population growth, changes due to the energy transition and the consequences of the war against Ukraine.
Kirsten Girschick, ARD Berlin, on the forecast for the development of traffic volume from the responsible Minister Wissing
tagesschau24 10:00 a.m., March 3, 2023
According to this, by 2051 there will be an increase in transport performance in the freight sector of 46 percent. With an increase of 54 percent, the road plays the biggest role, according to Wissing. Growth of 33 percent is expected for rail. The importance of truck deliveries on German roads would therefore continue to increase in the future.
According to the forecast, the relevance of aviation and rail transport will increase significantly in passenger transport: Here, transport performance is forecast to increase by more than 50 percent by 2051. According to Wissing, the car continues to dominate passenger transport, even if the increase in traffic in this area is less than 13 percent.
Minister of Transport Wissing presents report on traffic development up to 2051
Kirsten Girschick, ARd Berlin, 3/3/2023 12:15 p.m
Debate on the Federal Transport Route Plan
In his assessment, Wissing pointed out that the current Federal Transport Route Plan, which, as the most important instrument of federal transport infrastructure planning, sets the course for transport policy over the next few years, dates back to 2014. In addition, the plan is based on outdated data and assumptions from 2010. The new findings must be reacted to now. Accelerated expansion of the road is needed to ensure prosperity in Germany. Rail expansion alone is not enough.
In the debate about accelerating infrastructure expansion, the fronts have hardened: while the Greens want to push ahead with the expansion of the rail network through new regulations, the FDP is also calling for the construction of new motorways to be accelerated. The Greens strictly reject this with a view to the climate goals.
Greens are pushing for climate protection goals
Green leader Ricarda Lang is meanwhile calling on the transport minister to act. The task of climate protection in transport must be taken on jointly by the federal, state and local governments. “To do this, the Ministry of Transport must finally come up with concrete proposals on how emissions in the transport sector can be reduced,” she said on the occasion of the action day of Fridays for Future and the trade union ver.di.
Lang sees, for example, failures in the expansion of local public transport: the failures of the past few years weighed the most on employees. There are already not enough bus drivers, especially in rural areas. “They need good wages and better working conditions,” Lang criticized.