Local public transport (ÖPNV)

Hesse occupies a top position in local public transport in a nationwide comparison. Three transport associations organise local public transport in the respective regions. The state government forwards RMV, NVV and VRN the federal funds earmarked for this purpose in full.

To ensure attractive local public transport, Hesse favours competition and invites tenders for every transport service in order to create incentives for innovative, high-quality and cost-effective services.

The demands on local public transport vary from region to region: while people in the rural regions of northern Hesse need a guarantee of mobility through regular connections, there are already capacity bottlenecks on the railways in the Rhine-Main conurbation. The aim of the state government is to ensure that public transport remains a practical alternative to private transport throughout Hesse.

Organisation and financing of public transport

The public transport authorities (districts and independent cities and municipalities with over 50,000 inhabitants) are responsible for the planning, organisation and financing of local public transport in Hesse. They perform this task via the three transport associations RMV, NVV and VRN as well as the local public transport companies (public transport authority organisations).

The State of Hesse provides the transport associations with the full amount of regionalisation funds provided by Germany, which are primarily used to finance rail transport and regional bus services. Funding is regulated in multi-year financing agreements, which also contain jointly agreed targets for the utilisation of funds.

In addition, the state supports local public transport directly in the municipalities, e.g. through funding programmes for the barrier-free expansion of bus stops.