Public Transportation
Street cars have driven through Freiburg since 1901. In contrast to trends in European and American cities, the parish council decided in 1972 to preserve and extend the street cars. In recent years the street car network has further expanded, been further modernized and more projects are currently being planned or implemented. Buses and trains cover approximately 200,000 paths every day. Over 50% of street car tracks are covered in grass and the street cars use regionally produced, renewable energy, contributing to environmental protection. Public transportation deals cover 185 km of city bus lines, regional buses and the Breisgau S-Train. The attractive Regiokarte is valid for all kinds of regional public transportation and over the past 30 years, this offer has helped triple the number of public transport users.
A program for public transportation in Freiburg could be wonderfully complimented with a visit to other places in the Upper Rhein region:
- Karlsruhe is home to the first tram worldwide and the current 600 million Euro project that allows trams and regular trains to ride on the same tracks
- Strasbourg, the seat of the European Parliament, also serves as a great example for the Renaissance of the street car during the 1990’s.
- Mulhouse, a former car city with one of the youngest street car network in Europe that connect the surrounding countryside with the first tram train in France
- Basel has a transboundary street car network and a proportion of it is for public transportation with a modal split of 27% of people using public transportation
