Hundreds of thousands of Brandenburgers can breathe easy! Berlin’s new head of government Franziska Giffey (43, SPD) promises that car commuters will not be pushed out of the capital.
More and more bus and 30 km/h zones, narrower lanes and no parking. Berlin’s red-green-red Senate makes it difficult for drivers. But many of the 225,000 commuters from Brandenburg depend on their cars. The new boss in the Red City Hall assures them: There will be no congestion charges or driving bans.
“We do not rule out any means of transport,” Giffey said on Monday during her inaugural visit to the Potsdam State Chancellery. “We know that some regions are not ideally connected to local transport. There will always be those who need a car. And I think a metropolis of millions must also make that possible.”
But Giffey also knows that climate protection and the turnaround in traffic only work with fewer cars. That’s why “we have to do everything we can to ensure that people commute by train in the future”. Together with Brandenburg, she wants to improve rail transport. The goal: a faster “capital city cycle”.
This includes new routes such as the U7 extension to Schönefeld. And the revival of the Potsdamer Stammbahn to the center of Berlin. Giffey: “So that people say: I can’t make it as fast as I can by train any other way. And because it’s more convenient and cheaper for me.”
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This includes new routes such as the U7 extension to Schönefeld. And the revival of the Potsdamer Stammbahn to the center of Berlin. Giffey: “So that people say: I can’t make it as fast as I can by train any other way. And because it’s more convenient and cheaper for me.”
With Brandenburg’s head of government Dietmar Woidke (60, SPD) she is asking for help from the federal government. For the airport subway and for approval procedures. Woidke: “If the pace doesn’t increase significantly, climate neutrality won’t work!”
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