Gewährleistung umweltverträglicher Mobilität für alle

The article deals with state responsibility for the provision of sustainable mobility for people and goods, which is available and affordable for everyone. The legal structure of that responsibility can be shaped based on a general legal theory of network-bound infrastructures that distinguishes between the provision of transport infrastructure network, the regulation of (public and private) transport services, and a general legal framework (technical safety, consumer protection, environmental requirements, etc.). The governmental responsibility for mobility is rooted in the German constitution and governed by constitutional rules aimed at protecting health, environment and climate. By analyzing the ways, the legislator and the executive branch follow their responsibilities, some general principles, means and instruments can be found. Among these the instrumental function and limited range of competition is crucial. “Modal split” and “multimodality” of mobility have to be managed by special means of distribution, transfer policy (shifting transport from the roads to the railways), and (digital) interconnectivity. In the light of this the article focusses on two challenges of Germany’s sustainable transport policy (Verkehrswende)—reorganization of railway transport by introducing a nationwide synchronized timetable, and reorganization of local mobility by new instruments of urban planning and interconnectivity.