Speech by Linda (Fridays for Future)

Hello dear people, it’s great that you are all here today. We are here today not only in Würzburg, but across southern Germany, in Baden-Württemberg, Rheinland-Pfalz, Hessen and Bayern, shortly before the state and local elections, to once again make it very clear what we – what many citizens – are demanding: a future-proof policy. Climate policy decisions are not only made at the federal level. Many concrete issues are also dealt with at the state or municipal level. Municipalities decide, for example, on parks, urban greening, cycling infrastructure, electricity and the energy transition, as well as public transport. One lever that we can address at the municipal level, and that also causes a large share of CO₂ emissions, is transport. That is exactly why we want to draw special attention to it before this election. Mobility is a basic right. And in times of a climate crisis, we expect this mobility, as part of a transport transition, to be climate-friendly and accessible to everyone. Exactly 20 days ago, we were already out on the streets demanding better cycling infrastructure. And that is an important part of the transport transition. But another big part is public transport, and that is precisely why this is today’s focus. Public transport should actually be such a good alternative that everyone can rely on it to get into the city, to university, to work, or back home at any time of day. What would be needed for this? Public transport must be affordable and barrier-free. The Germany ticket is becoming more and more expensive, and a single ride quickly costs around 3–4 euros. In Erlangen, for example, all bus rides in the city center are free – that could be one approach. Many stops and public transport services are still not barrier-free; we will hear more about that from Zoe later. Better connections between districts. For example, the route from Lengfeld to the university is frustrating, but there are many good examples where, when using public transport, you have to take a long detour because direct connections do not exist. In the evening, depending on where you live, you have to plan very carefully how and when you will get home. The city has been planning line 6 for decades, and it is still not there. It now looks like this will finally change in the coming years, but Even if it finally comes in the next few years, the tram network is definitely still expandable. For example, a line 7 to Versbach could be built – that was once under discussion – or the lines could be better connected with each other. Public transport enables not only climate-friendly but also safe and affordable mobility for everyone – meaning elderly people, children, students, families who may not have a car or are not able or allowed to drive. We are aware that the city of Würzburg, given its tight budget situation, cannot implement all projects immediately. But we demand from every democratic party and from all candidates running on these lists that the climate-friendly transformation of our city – and that includes public transport – has absolute priority in all considerations.