They also demand the closure of timetable gaps for the important connections to Mannheim and the Rhine-Main area.
The Greens want it to be possible, in the event of a disruption in operations, to alternatively travel by another long-distance train, a sharing system (car, bike, etc.), or by taxi late at night. The costs for this should then be covered by the SaarVV. This nationwide uniform service would thus ensure that people can reach their destinations.
"It is important to us to provide a mobility guarantee for people who use trains to and from Saarland. We want everyone to travel independently and in an environmentally friendly way. This requires an attractive and barrier-free offer of public mobility services.
It must be faster and more convenient to get from one place to another. The people in Saarland need a mobility guarantee for buses and trains. Only in this way can we ensure sustainable mobility.
It is especially important in the evening hours that people are able to reach their destination. Ensuring connections must have the highest priority here. This guarantee can also include covering taxi costs if the last means of transport fails or the connection cannot be guaranteed due to a delay. Ensuring connections, even in the event of delays, should be a priority during the evening and night hours.
“Our goal is that in the future people will be able to get around without being dependent on their own car,” explains Jose Ignacio Rodriguez Maicas, spokesperson for the state working group on transport of the Greens in Saarland.
The Greens in Saarland still see the "Deutschlandtakt" as an important tool to improve long-distance travel and advocate for the introduction of a regular-interval timetable for local public transport in Saarland as well. Furthermore, the Greens call for an expansion of long-distance connections during off-peak times, which can also be used with local transport tickets.
“Such a regular interval timetable, connected to the schedule in Rhineland-Palatinate, is an essential step to modernize and improve public transport in Saarland. It could help improve connections within Saarland and enable people to travel quickly and conveniently. However, until then, interval gaps must be closed as quickly as possible. In particular, the RegionalExpress ‘SÜWEX’ must be ensured to run continuously at hourly intervals. Although it is currently possible to travel at hourly intervals on the route, on the Mannheim – Saarbrücken section, in certain time periods, an intercity train runs instead of the SÜWEX. In these cases, not all stops are served. St. Ingbert and Homburg are often bypassed. Sometimes, there are no regional train connections to compensate for the cancellations.,” Rodriguez Maicas concludes.
