Thuringia's mobility conference: guide for the transport transition in 2030!

Thuringia's mobility conference: guide for the transport transition in 2030!

On March 28, 2025, the first Thuringian mobility conference took place in Erfurt, which was organized by the Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft Thüringen mbH (LEG) on behalf of the Thuringian Ministry for Digital and Infrastructure (TMDI). As part of the event, participants were able to get to know a variety of initiatives and projects that are in the context of the mobility transition in Thuringia. This included both a mobility market and the presentation of the results of the working groups of the Thuringian Mobility Network. This information was provided by the Technical University of Ilmenau prepared in detail.

One focus of the conference was the presentation of the integral cycle timetable Thuringia 2030, which is a future-oriented project intended to sustainably improve mobility in the region. In addition, the federal research project “MOVEwell” was presented, which was presented by Prof. Matthias Hein, director of the Thuringian Institute for Mobility (ThIMo), and Prof. Uwe Plank-Wiedenbeck from the Bauhaus University Weimar. MOVEwell, which received a funding commitment from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research for autumn 2024, aims to improve accessibility between districts and develop sustainable mobility concepts, especially in rural areas.

New Thuringian mobility network

The founding of the Thuringian mobility network was also announced during the conference. This network is intended to support the transport transition in Thuringia and aims to ensure socially and spatially fair mobility. Minister Susanna Karawanskij emphasized the importance of rural areas for the mobility transition, as 80% of the population lives there. Around 40 experts from the areas of municipal associations, business, science as well as interest groups and transport associations are part of the network, which is dedicated to exchange and knowledge transfer. Loud Digital infrastructure Thuringia The network is also intended to provide strategic impulses for transport policy.

In four interdisciplinary working groups, the network focuses on significant mobility challenges. These working groups deal with the transport infrastructure and its role in spatial development, the further development of the rail infrastructure, road-based local public transport (ÖPNV) and cycling. A temporary specialist group for the campaign to recruit skilled workers in local public transport was also set up.

Challenges and demands

Minister Karawanskij pointed out the challenges in the transport sector and called for greater investments from both the federal and state governments. In her criticism of the planned transport budget for the 2025 federal budget, she expressed concerns about declining federal funding for rail infrastructure, cuts in regionalization funding and insufficient funding for cycling. She also warns about the unclear future of maintaining the road network.

The minister emphasized the need for future-proof financing structures in order to secure infrastructure investments in the long term. The dialogue and cooperation between the various actors in the newly founded Thuringian mobility network could make a decisive contribution to mastering these challenges and driving forward the mobility transition in Thuringia.