Heidi Reichinnek, the leader of the Left Party faction, has sharply criticized the federal government’s plan to reduce funding for electric buses starting next year. She told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (Saturday edition) that “people need better bus connections, and car manufacturers need orders.” Reichinnek called it “absolute madness” that figures like Friedrich Merz and Lars Klingbeil would cut subsidies for e-buses precisely during this time.
Reichinnek accuses the government of “economic thoughtlessness.” She asserts that a well-planned strategy could achieve two goals simultaneously: ensuring that people in rural areas receive good, quick electric bus service, and securing thousands of industrial jobs.
Consequently, the politician demands a guaranteed uptake for 10,000 new electric buses by 2030. She contrasts this ideal with what she sees as “absurd developments,” citing the situation in Osnabrück. In that VW plant, the last vehicles are scheduled to roll off the assembly line next year, after which the site is slated to be utilized for manufacturing air defense systems. Reichinnek firmly rejects the idea of producing weaponry at the facility, stating that climate-friendly buses should be built instead. “We want buses instead of weapons,” she declared.
Currently, the conservative-red coalition supports the electrification of public bus transport with 403 million euros. However, according to the budget proposal for 2027, this funding is slated to drop to 130 million euros starting next year.
