Interview with Federal Transport Minister: Reduce driving license costs, accelerate road construction

Yes, I am, and I've done it in a coach. Never in a race car. Not even on a bike. But I've always wanted to run the route.

This had to do with the acceleration of planning and approval processes. It's important for us to speed up processes so that they become faster and simpler. We can only make progress if we cross boundaries where we've previously stopped. This means interfering with procedures, rights, and opportunities. And of course, those affected don't want that. For example, associations whose right to sue is being streamlined or focused. When it comes to accelerating planning and approval processes, this means making certain things simpler and faster, and thus also removing opportunities. We must take this path. Things cannot remain as they are.

We have this statutory option of class action. What bothers me, for example with the A1 gap closure, is that there are associations that already knew 20 to 30 years ago that they would sue, even though the route hadn't even been finalized yet. It's also being used as an instrument to hold up or delay things without anyone being personally affected. You can see that here, too. A lawsuit is now being brought against a construction phase before the Federal Administrative Court – initially by three local municipalities. But there were settlements, and they withdrew their lawsuits. In the end, only one association remains ( the BUND, editor's note ). I think we need to take another look at this and tighten things up.

That won't be so easy, because we can no longer regulate it at the national level alone. The Red-Green coalition invented it in 1998, and now it's a European standard. That means you need at least the EU level to abolish certain things. But we want to tackle what we can streamline and what we can regulate nationally.

We have a lot of catching up to do in terms of infrastructure overall, and we will invest €166 billion in roads, rail, and waterways during this legislative period. Of this, around €107 billion will go to rail. However, we are also investing almost €52 billion in roads and almost €8 billion in waterways. We also have a mammoth task ahead of us when it comes to roads: renovating 4,000 bridges in the core motorway network alone.

I'm confident we can do it. 4,000 bridges is a lot, and it won't happen overnight, but perhaps in the next ten years. Since the program began, we've already completed a third ( in terms of area, editor's note ). That doesn't make the task any smaller, but it does show that it can be done more quickly. For example, through a bridge competence center at the Autobahn GmbH, serial construction methods, or functional tenders.

In large parts of rural areas, we rely on individual mobility. It simply wouldn't work without it. A railway line runs essentially through my constituency. I personally have to drive 40 kilometers to get to the nearest train station. I can't manage without a car. The question is how to better integrate individual and public transport, for example through technological developments such as on-demand transport or autonomous driving. I see enormous possibilities and opportunities here, especially for rural areas.

I hear that adriver's license can easily cost more than €4,000 these days. Especially if a family has several children, many can no longer afford it. That's why we want to tackle this and make driver's licenses affordable again. We spoke with the relevant stakeholders, such as driving schools, testing organizations, and others, in July to find out why. We are currently evaluating the situation.

I always consider that the worst approach. We have to maintain the standard; it's also about security. But it used to be cheaper – also in relation to the income at the time. There are numerous identified starting points for improvement.

German automakers, startups, and suppliers are at the forefront of this technology. We've created the legal framework to enable it, and we have excellent examples of projects where it's being tested, such as the Moia shared taxis in Hamburg. We need real-life operation in cities and rural areas, with a growing number of vehicles. The AI ​​in these systems relies on collecting ever more data. The more data it has, the better it becomes.

I can't tell you in hours or minutes. I remember a trip from Berlin. I got on the train on a Friday afternoon and arrived in Cologne after midnight. Things like that can happen, but what often bothers me most is communication. We need to improve that and, in the event of a delay, provide travelers with alternative connections quickly and reliably.

We are working toward the goal of Vision Zero, meaning no more traffic fatalities. We've made significant progress in recent years, but we're still a long way from achieving this goal. However, we must be motivated to keep working toward it. By making turning assistants mandatory for new trucks weighing 3.5 tons or more, we've taken on a pioneering role at the European level. This will be introduced across the board over time and will lead to significant safety improvements.

The automotive industry, including its suppliers, is facing major challenges. They have a lot of potential and are very well positioned, for example, in autonomous driving or the transition to electromobility. However, the current framework conditions are difficult, due to tariffs, the Chinese market, and the trade disputes with the US. Nevertheless, I am convinced that there is sufficient know-how and potential to overcome this situation.

The EU is a very important, central market for us, including for the automotive industry. However, I sometimes wish we wouldn't regulate so much, but instead regulate in the right places. That would make life easier for the automotive industry, but also for many of us.

For company cars and fleets, we have taken this approach by allowing 75 percent depreciation in the first year...

However, this will lead to a general market boost and strengthen the second-car market in the electric mobility sector. Prices for private customers could become more attractive as a result.

It's less about shortcomings; the framework conditions are particularly difficult for major progress. Nevertheless, we have committed ourselves to the climate targets, and we intend to meet them. Technological openness plays an important role in this. This means that the government does not dictate how we do things in detail. Especially not with regard to combustion engines, e-mobility, hydrogen, or anything else. We have to set the guardrails, show the way forward, and also promote them. But ultimately, it must be a consumer decision. The market—not bans—will determine what prevails and makes sense.

The industry is taking the path it believes is right here. And electromobility is making rapid progress. I don't believe in bans in this area; the market will ultimately decide that. The government can't dictate this. We have to create opportunities. And if we want to promote electromobility, for example, then that can be achieved through the expansion of the charging infrastructure.

According to statistics, the number of accidents among older people is not significantly higher than among others. As long as I don't have this level of significance, such measures are unnecessary. Otherwise, they would deprive people of their opportunities and also create additional bureaucratic burdens. I don't see any basis for this in the results. The figures don't support it.

There are many older people who handle this issue very responsibly and assess themselves correctly, stop driving, or even give up their driver's license. I think it's better to raise awareness and better assess oneself in such a situation. I don't want to tar everyone with the same brush. If you see a 75-year-old today, they're a different person than they were 20 years ago. I always find rigid measures difficult.

That's not an issue for us; I don't see any basis for a car toll. Our current focus is on getting the infrastructure in order. We want to create closed financing cycles again. So, the revenue from the truck toll flows back into the roads. This has advantages, especially with regard to acceptance.

This is being discussed in the European Council, but I'm fighting to avoid it. It wouldn't improve safety. There's no evidence that cars more than ten years old are involved in accidents more often due to technical defects.

I don't like it when cars are fundamentally demonized and people want to keep them out of the city at all costs and for ideological reasons. There has to be cooperation. This doesn't preclude certain concepts from creating parking spaces elsewhere, as well as alternative ways to get into the city. It's always a case-by-case assessment. There are good and not-so-good examples.

The ID.3 by a clear margin. I believe that electric mobility has significant advantages in rural areas over cities because charging can take place at home. For example, with a photovoltaic system on the roof. This works wonderfully. In the past two or two and a half years, we've only charged outside of home once. Politically, we need to ensure that charging is possible in front of apartment buildings in cities, too.

Not actively. But we do have a lot of tourist motorcycle traffic. These seem to be more for those who enjoy riding without speeding. There are designated routes that are also marketed to tourists. This is very popular and has a certain significance here. There are now hotels that specialize in this clientele. Motorcycles are frequently seen, and complaints are rare, if at all.

I think this will prevail. I remember it from my youth. Especially in rural areas, two-wheelers were the first motorized mode of transportation, and today there are even electric drives.

I can't agree with that. I have experience with tourist motorcycle traffic in my home country. There are absolutely no reservations. What we need – two-wheelers play just as important a role here as other means of transportation – is respect and consideration for one another, good cooperation in traffic. To this end, we have launched the road safety initiative "More Respect."

The emergency lane is primarily for emergency vehicles. When a motorcyclist weaves through a traffic jam, there are always unpredictable, and potentially dangerous, moments. And in Germany, we say: Safety is our top priority, and other things have to take a back seat for the moment. Municipalities also have the option of designating parking spaces specifically for motorcyclists. You just have to do it.

We have some stretches of road where there is definitely a risk. These are primarily the concrete pavements, where we experience blowups in the summer. Unlike car blowups, motorcyclists are hit particularly hard and can result in serious injuries. That's why the speed limit is reduced there. For cars, it's 120 km/h, for motorcycles, it's 80 km/h. It's not ideal, but I believe the danger posed by blowups is greater than driving among heavy traffic. We are working on eliminating the danger spots, however. The Autobahn GmbH has already begun replacing damaged sections in sections so that such restrictions will be necessary less frequently in the future.

In May, Patrick Schnieder (57, CDU) became the first Christian Democrat to become Federal Minister of Transport after 28 years. The married lawyer from the Bitburg constituency has been a member of the Bundestag since 2009. Previously, the Rhineland-Palatinate native served as mayor of the Arzfeld collective municipality for ten years, and before that, as a lawyer. His main areas of focus are economics, reducing bureaucracy, infrastructure, and accelerating planning. Because of his height of 2.02 meters and his background, he is nicknamed the "Eifel Tower." The amateur pianist, organist, and runner is the older brother of the CDU's top candidate for the Rhineland-Palatinate state election, Gordon Schnieder (50).