Mannheim takes off: New mobility law for green mobility!

Mannheim takes off: New mobility law for green mobility!

On March 29, 2025, the Baden-Württemberg State Mobility Act (LMG) came into force, an important step towards improving the transport infrastructure and promoting climate-friendly means of transport. This was already agreed in the 2021 coalition agreement between the Greens and the CDU. The aim of the LMG is to strengthen fair cooperation in transport and, in particular, to improve the mobility of children and young people. In addition, barriers in transport should be reduced so that all population groups are better connected. According to mrn-news.de, the road infrastructure is supported by intelligent systems, which should make the buses more efficient.

A central element of the new law is the introduction of a mobility pass, which is intended to give citizens financial planning security when expanding local public transport. This pass enables municipalities to charge a fee for improved public transport services. In return, citizens receive mobility credit that they can use for season tickets and subscriptions, including the Deutschlandticket, within 12 months.

Public participation and consultation

From July 31, 2025, associations and the general public have two months to provide feedback on the draft law. Transport Minister Winfried Hermann emphasizes the urgency of a mobility and drive transition in order to achieve climate goals. In the autumn, after taking the feedback into account, the law will be discussed in the Council of Ministers and then dealt with in the state parliament. According to zukunftsnetzwerk-oepnv.de, the planned measures are absolutely necessary to effectively promote local public transport (ÖPNV) and support climate protection.

The design of the mobility pass provides for two main variants for collecting the tax: either as a resident contribution, which all citizens aged 18 and over pay, or as a tax only for vehicle owners. In the first variant, these citizens pay and receive credit for using public transport. In addition, municipalities can decide whether to exempt electric vehicle owners from the tax.

Functions and challenges of the mobility law

The implementation of the mobility pass is voluntary and depends on the quality of public transport. Bus and cycling traffic plays a central role in future transport planning, supported by the introduction of cycling coordinators in all 44 urban and rural districts in Baden-Württemberg. These are intended to promote the development of a continuous cycle NETWORK in order to create safe and attractive cycle paths that do not end at municipal boundaries. The digital control of parking space through scanning vehicles will also contribute to improving traffic safety, which could be particularly helpful for cities that suffer from a lack of staff in the regulatory authorities, as swr.de reports.

Although the Mobility Act has met with broad approval, there are also critical voices. The law is criticized by the opposition, especially the FDP and SPD, as bureaucratic and unnecessary. However, it remains to be seen how the further consultation and final implementation will proceed. The next information event will take place on June 5th, 2025 at 7 p.m. in the Toulon area, Stadthaus N1 in Mannheim, where State Secretary Elke Zimmer will take part. Anyone interested is warmly invited to find out more and take part.