Germany's Key Urban Areas Implement Dedicated Lanes for Public Transit
In many German cities, bus lanes account for a mere 1.4% of the road networks, according to recent data. This limited adoption of dedicated bus lanes is not due to a lack of interest in improving public transit, but rather the result of urban transport planning priorities, budget constraints, and urban planning challenges.
Unlike some countries that focus on cost-effective public transit expansions, such as Latin America and parts of Europe like France, Germany prioritises established tram, metro, and rail systems. This focus on modal integration often results in fewer standalone bus priority lanes.
The consequences of this limited implementation are significant. Buses sharing lanes with cars lead to increased traffic congestion, slower bus speeds, and reduced service reliability. This, in turn, contributes to higher air pollution and CO2 emissions, as buses burn more fuel and fail to attract drivers away from private vehicles due to slower transit times and discomfort.
Cities in countries like the Netherlands, for instance, have agreements to pursue emission-free, electrified bus fleets combined with supportive infrastructure, which encourages the widespread adoption of efficient public transit, reducing emissions and traffic load on roads.
Jürgen Resch, federal managing director of the German Environmental Aid (DUH), has criticised the limited number of dedicated bus lanes in German cities. He suggests that pop-up bus lanes, considered inexpensive, can have an immediate effect.
Interestingly, Berlin stands out among the cities mentioned, boasting the most bus lanes with 121 kilometers, accounting for 2.3% of its entire road network. However, only five out of 40 large cities in Germany have dedicated bus lanes on more than one percent of their road networks, according to a DUH survey.
Cities like Aachen, Mainz, Munich, and Hamburg have bus lanes, but their percentage shares are not specified. Notably, Halle (Saale), Krefeld, Magdeburg, and Oberhausen currently have no bus-only lanes at all.
Traffic jams, delayed buses, poorer air quality, and unnecessary high CO2 emissions are issues resulting from the limited number of dedicated bus lanes, as per Resch. He also points out that buses have free passage on separate lanes in exceptional cases.
As autonomous and electrified buses signal future potential for improving efficiency and environmental impact in German urban transport, the wider adoption of dedicated lanes remains a bottleneck until integrated infrastructure solutions and funding align with policy goals.
In alignment with Jürgen Resch's criticisms, the absence of dedicated bus lanes in many German cities could lead to increased traffic congestion, slower bus speeds, and reduced service reliability within the transportation industry. The limited adoption, in contrast to countries like the Netherlands, contributes to higher air pollution and CO2 emissions, as buses burn more fuel due to sharing lanes with cars in the public-transit sector.
