City
Dense networks of buses, trams, U-Bahn and S-Bahn. Short distances favour walking and cycling, and parking is scarce. Here the main questions are capacity, reliability and space on the street.
Transport system · Everyday mobility
Mobility
Transport policy is usually discussed in kilometres of track and billions of euros. For most people it is about something simpler: the trip to work, to school, to the doctor or to see family. This sheet looks at how people in Germany actually travel, and at what Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger has said about it.
Destatis, Mikrozensus 2024 (first results, published May 2025). Remainder: other modes.
Section A — a working day
The commute in numbers
27% under 5 km
22% 5–10 km
29% 10–25 km
15% 25–50 km
5%
According to the Federal Statistical Office, 65% of employed people in Germany usually drove to work in 2024. That was down from 68% in 2020. Public transport rose from 14% to 16%. Ten per cent cycled and 7% walked. Destatis linked the slight rise in public transport partly to the Deutschlandticket, introduced in 2023, which many employers subsidise.
Most commutes are short. About half are under ten kilometres, and roughly 70% of commuters need less than 30 minutes. But one in five travels 25 kilometres or more, and 6% spend an hour or longer on the way. Long commutes are much harder to make by bus or bicycle. For those journeys the car, the regional train or a combination of the two is usually the only realistic option.
Context
City, suburb, village
The same national average hides very different situations. What counts as a good transport offer depends on where people live.
Suburb and commuter belt
Regional rail and the S-Bahn into the city, the car for everything else. Many households combine the two, driving to the station or keeping one car for the family. A constituency like Ludwigsburg, north of Stuttgart, is typical.
Rural area
Buses may run a few times a day or only for school traffic, and the nearest station can be far away. The car is often the only practical choice, especially for shift workers, older people living alone and families. On-demand and, in future, automated services are being tested as additions to the timetable.
Who is responsibleLocal buses, trams and regional trains are organised by the Länder and municipalities, not the federal ministry. The federal government pays a large share through regionalisation funds and grants for municipal transport infrastructure (GVFG). It is also responsible for the federal rail network and for long-distance roads. See public transport and regional connectivity.
Documented: stated principle
"All modes, where they are strong"
At the handover of the ministry on 29 July 2026 Bilger set out how he sees the relationship between the modes. According to the ministry's press release, he spoke about reliable connections for commuters, functioning supply chains for the economy, and travel options for families by rail, car, plane or bicycle. He then summed it up in one sentence.
The principle avoids ranking one mode above the others. Supporters see it as pragmatic. Critics, among them the Greens, argue that climate targets require clear priority for rail and public transport over roads. That debate is set out on sustainable transport.
Dazu brauchen wir alle Verkehrsträger und müssen sie dort ausbauen, wo sie ihre Stärken haben.
“For that we need all modes of transport, and we must expand them where they have their strengths.” (translation)
Steffen Bilger, handover at the Federal Ministry for Transport, 29 July 2026 — BMV press release 070/2026
Section B — public transport fares
The Deutschlandticket
The Deutschlandticket is a monthly subscription valid on all local and regional public transport across Germany. It is the largest change in everyday mobility of recent years. The federal government put user numbers at about 14.5 million in May 2026, and the VDV transport association reported around 14.6 million subscribers at the end of 2025.
The ticket's price is set jointly by the federal and state transport ministers. It started at €49 in 2023, rose to €58 in 2025 and to €63 in 2026. On 30 September 2026 the Conference of Transport Ministers set €66.80 from January 2027, an increase of 6%. This was the first use of a price index agreed in March 2026. Federal and state subsidies stay at €3 billion a year combined.
Bilger called the ticket weiterhin ein sehr attraktives Angebot
("still a very attractive offer", translation). In an interview with the Berliner Morgenpost on 14 September 2026 he said the price adjustments were nötig, um das Verkehrsangebot beizubehalten
("necessary to maintain the service", translation).
Critics disagreed. Ramona Pop of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) warned of an „automatisierte Preisspirale“ ("automated price spiral", translation). Jürgen Resch of the Deutsche Umwelthilfe said: „Öffentlicher Nahverkehr ist gesellschaftliche Teilhabe“ ("public transport is social participation", translation). North Rhine-Westphalia's transport minister Oliver Krischer (Greens) called the rise „schade für den Erfolg dieses revolutionären Tickets“ ("a pity for the success of this revolutionary ticket", translation).
Context and documented remarks
Living with the car
For about two in three commuters, and for many families and rural households, the car is everyday reality. How far policy should accept that or try to change it is one of the central disputes in German transport politics.
The family car and the speed limit
Documented remarks
Asked about his own car by Bild on 9 August 2026, Bilger said: Wir haben drei Kinder, deswegen klassisch ein Familienauto. Den VW Sharan, und den gibt es nicht elektrisch.
("We have three children, so a classic family car. The VW Sharan, and it doesn't come in an electric version", translation.) In the same interview he rejected a general speed limit. To the Berliner Morgenpost he argued that many people would see a limit as a restriction of their freedom.
Policy context
The remark is not a policy statement. Read alongside his rejection of a speed limit and his call for "technology openness" (see future mobility), it suggests a view in which the car remains central and policy improves the alternatives rather than restricting driving. That is this site's interpretation, not his wording. Environmental groups see it differently. They argue that without measures aimed at car traffic, transport emissions will not fall. Speed limits are discussed on road infrastructure, and the wider social questions on mobility and society.
Families on the train
Documented remarks
In September 2026, when Deutsche Bahn's abolition of its family seat reservation came up, Bilger said: Wir sind mit der Bahn dazu im Gespräch.
("We are in talks with DB about it", translation). The Stuttgarter Zeitung reported him as saying that the abolition „sorge zurecht für viel Unzufriedenheit“ (rightly causes a lot of dissatisfaction).
Policy context
DB dropped the reservation in June 2025, and a petition against the decision collected more than 128,000 signatures. DB is a company owned by the federal government, but ticketing is a business decision, so the minister can only press it. The sources do not report an outcome.
Section C — looking ahead
New forms of everyday mobility
Two of Bilger's early announcements aim directly at the gaps in rural mobility. On 31 August 2026 the ministry opened a €14 million funding call for autonomous vehicles in public transport and freight. Municipalities, transport companies and licensed private operators can apply. Bilger said: Autonomes Fahren bietet die Chance, Mobilität neu zu denken. Gerade in ländlichen Regionen und in städtischen Randlagen können autonome Fahrzeuge das öffentliche Verkehrsangebot sinnvoll ergänzen.
("Autonomous driving offers the chance to rethink mobility. In rural regions and on the edges of cities in particular, autonomous vehicles can usefully complement public transport", translation.)
The German–Polish friendship pass, launched in September 2026, offers 60,000 young people free rail travel in the neighbouring country. It is a reminder that everyday mobility also crosses borders. Both programmes are small next to the Deutschlandticket's €3 billion a year, and neither has yet produced measurable results. The technology is covered on digital mobility and the regional side on regional connectivity.
Sources
- ZDFheute — Almost two thirds commute to work by car (Destatis, Mikrozensus 2024) (May 2025)
- Destatis — 68% of employed people drove to work in 2020 (Sep 2021)
- BMV — Press release 070/2026: handover at the Federal Ministry for Transport (29 Jul 2026)
- Bundesregierung — Deutschlandticket
- Weser-Kurier — Deutschlandticket records 14.6 million subscribers
- WirtschaftsWoche — Deutschlandticket 2026: price rise
- Lok-Report — Transport ministers set Deutschlandticket at €66.80 from 2027 (30 Sep 2026)
- VAG Nürnberg — Deutschlandticket: new price from 1 January 2027
- evangelisch.de — Plus 6% to €66.80: criticism of more expensive Deutschlandticket (30 Sep 2026)
- BMV — Interview with Berliner Morgenpost (14 Sep 2026)
- BMV — Interview with Bild (9 Aug 2026)
- Stuttgarter Zeitung — Bilger in talks with DB on family reservations (13 Sep 2026)
- BMV — Press release 080/2026: €14 million for autonomous driving (31 Aug 2026)
- BMV — Press release 084/2026: German–Polish friendship pass (9 Sep 2026)
- RNZ — Greens: new transport minister must do more for the climate (8 Aug 2026)