Status: 06/27/2023 12:17 p.m
Local public transport (ÖPNV) in Lower Saxony is the third worst in all of Germany. This is shown by a current study by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development.
“We are a large area, which means we have long distances to bridge,” said the President of the Lower Saxony Association of Towns and Municipalities, Marco Trips, the NDR in Lower Saxony. Significantly more must be invested in the expansion and “finally more bus lines created”. According to Trips, this requires large investments. Therefore it is a long-term project.
The district of Cuxhaven brings up the rear
The analysis presented on Monday shows that public transport is the worst in Lower Saxony in the Cuxhaven district. Only 37 percent of the people there are reached by a so-called basic public transport service. This means that there is a bus stop within a radius of 600 meters from your apartment or the nearest train station is a maximum of 1.2 kilometers away. Buses and trains should then run at least ten times a day in each direction.
“A 49-euro ticket is useless if there are no buses in the afternoon”
In the district of Cuxhaven, the transport of schoolchildren forms the basis of bus transport. That’s often the case in rural areas, Trips said. And it means that the supply in the afternoon – and even more so in the evening hours – is getting worse and worse. “If there are no buses in the afternoon, the 49-euro ticket doesn’t help,” says Trips.
Almost 100 percent supply in the big cities
The situation is not much better in the districts of Lüchow-Dannenberg, Cloppenburg, Vechta and Leer. Densely populated districts, on the other hand, are “generally better connected to public transport than sparsely populated ones,” writes the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR). Almost 100 percent of the population get a basic public transport offer in the cities of Oldenburg, Osnabrück, Braunschweig and in the Hanover region.
Only Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bavaria are worse
Also in Emden, Wolfsburg and Salzgitter, according to the BBSR, the offer is good for almost all residents. Nevertheless, Lower Saxony is only third from last in a nationwide comparison. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bavaria fare even worse. Nationwide, one in ten people does not live within 600 meters of a bus stop or within 1.2 kilometers of a train station that is used at least 20 times a day. From the point of view of the scientists at the BBSR, these distances provide convenient access to public transport.
Downloads
Percentage of residents in the catchment area of a public transport stop with at least 20 departures (districts and urban districts). Download (323KB)
“Germany is making no progress in expanding public transport”
According to the authors of the study, mobility by bus and train must be suitable for everyday use, even in rural areas. The Pro-Rail Alliance was even clearer. “The new data shows that Germany is not making any progress in expanding public transport,” said Managing Director Dirk Flege. “Compared to the 2020 figures, the offer has even gotten slightly worse.” He called on the federal and state governments to launch a “supply offensive with significantly more buses and trains throughout Germany”.
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NDR 1 Lower Saxony | Current | 06/27/2023 | 12:00 o’clock