Our targets for the transformation of the transport sector

Car traffic today accounts for over 60 percent of CO₂ emissions from transport. While 21 percent of new vehicle registrations in 2023 were electric, they accounted for only three percent of the total cars on the road. If the proportion of electric cars in new registrations can be increased to roughly 100 percent year on year by 2030, one third of all cars on the roads will be electric (only accounting for the electric component of plug-in hybrids). This is comparable to the federal target of 15 million battery-powered electric cars.

In the meantime, approximately two million private and public charging points will have to be created. In addition, approximately five terawatt hours of renewable electricity is needed, equivalent to 8 percent of the total electricity consumption in BW today.

This change will not be achieved through EU fleet targets alone. Locally and regionally, tangible benefits such as electric vehicle driving lanes and zero emissions zones should encourage e-car ownership. For the remaining fossil-fuelled cars, the absolute amount of biofuel blends will not increase, but gain relative importance as the electrification of the fleet reduces fossil fuel kilometres. Electric drives and biofuels will thus reach 50 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040.

In 2024, there are 7 million registered cars in Baden-Württemberg. Without any reform, this figure would increase by a further 500,000 by 2030. In cities in particular, there is considerable scope for a shift from car travel to rail, bus, bike and foot. This is more difficult in rural areas, but even here there is a will to do away with the second or third car if there are good alternatives. Overall, instead of a 10 percent increase, car traffic can be reduced by 10 percent by 2030 compared to 2010 through modal shift.

The last few years have shown that, in addition to a modal shift, some of the remaining car traffic can become redundant through options such as working from home.

• More people spending more days working from home means fewer journeys to work. Business trips can also increasingly be substituted by remote communication.
• A growing interest in regional leisure activities also reduces car traffic. This can save around 10 percent of total car kilometres.
• Combined with the modal shift mentioned above, there would be 20 percent fewer vehicles on the road.
• There is a significant difference between urban and rural areas however, with 50 percent fewer vehicles in cities and 10 percent fewer in rural areas. This would improve quality of life in both the city and the countryside and enable people to live with fewer cars.

In freight transport, the goal remains to shift as much traffic as possible to rail and inland waterways because these modes consume less energy per tonne and kilometre. In addition, the railways are already mostly electric and are thus considered a climate-neutral form of transport. To facilitate this, a truck toll is to be introduced on state and municipal roads. However, this modal shift has its limits, partly because of the long planning and construction times.

Therefore, there is to be a gradual increase in the registrations of climate-neutral vehicles, primarily electric vehicles but also hydrogen-powered ones.

• The number of new climate-neutral registrations should reach roughly 100 percent by 2030 for vans and from 2033 onwards for trucks.
• By 2030, electric vehicles will represent 30 percent of truck-kilometres, which is comparable to the federal target, for which climate protection-oriented competition conditions and a nationwide refuelling and charging infrastructure are to be created.
• Renewable synthetic fuel will also be used alongside biofuel. There will also be hydrogen-powered vehicles. A total of 50 percent of tonne-kilometres in freight transport will thus be climate neutral by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040.

To achieve the modal shift from cars to public transport, improvements are required in the public transport sector, especially with regards to enhanced capacities. Public transport demand is to be doubled by 2030 compared to 2010, and then tripled by 2040. A comprehensive list of measures all working towards reaching this target is elaborated in the Local Public Transport Strategy 2030, including, among other things:

• The conception and prospective implementation of a “Mobility Guarantee”, that defines a service to run at least every half an hour in rural areas and every fifteen minutes in urban areas connecting all localities during common travel times,
• The conception and launch of attractive ticket prices,
• The implementation of vehicles that offer sufficient capacity, on corridors with high passenger volume,
• Suitable adaptation and expansion of infrastructure to meet future demand,
• The introduction of flexible and demand-responsive services to ensure regular local public transport during off-peak times and in less densely populated regions.

By 2030, the share of trips by bike should have increased from 10 percent to 20 percent and those done walking from 21 percent to 30 percent.

For this purpose, …

• A state-wide cycle path network has been set up and is being systematically brought up to standard and supplemented by 20 express cycle paths.
• Bike & Ride parking spaces are to be doubled state-wide.
• The state’s funding support program for municipal pedestrian and cycling infrastructure allows funding quotas of up to 90% and has constantly been growing in volume and demand.
• The successful cycling promotion campaign RadKULTUR that addresses commuters as main target group has been complemented by the campaign MOVERS – active to school, which promotes schoolchildren’s active mobility.
• Footpath networks with minimum widths, pedestrian-friendly traffic lights, consistent penalties for parking violations and ‘compact cities’ with vibrant, traffic-calmed town centres will make walking more attractive. Where everyday journeys can be made on foot or by bicycle, this automatically results in fewer kilometres being travelled by car, further reducing the burden on the climate.