UpBus Research Prompts North Rhine-Westphalia Accelerating Approval Procedures For Cable Cars
Mobility solutions with ropeways are booming. More and more people are working on mobility solutions with ropeways around the world - also in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Mobility solutions with ropeways are booming. More and more people are working on mobility solutions with ropeways around the world - also in North Rhine-Westphalia. The new state law is intended to accelerate the approval process for cable cars in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Transport Minister Hendrik Wüst said: “Cable cars are a means of transport of the future and can be an important component of better, safer and cleaner mobility in North Rhine-Westphalia. That is why we are now giving the Cable Car Act an update to simplify and accelerate planning procedures. "
Research on the “upBus” of RWTH Aachen University for transmodular local transport shows what potential ropeways have for mobility in North Rhine-Westphalia. The “upBus” is a hybrid mobility concept in which a vehicle switches between a cable car and an autonomous bus operation. In contrast to a conventional connection between a cable car system and a bus, where passengers have to get off, passengers in the "upBus" can stay in the cabin of the hybrid vehicle.
Minister Wüst: “The RWTH Aachen's 'upBus' is an example of how many innovations for new mobility are being researched and developed in North Rhine-Westphalia. And they should also be produced here so that we can continue to offer challenging jobs in the future and keep highly qualified workers in the region and gain new ones. "
The law on cable cars in North Rhine-Westphalia regulates the planning, construction and operation of cable cars. This also includes the planning approval and approval procedures nationwide, as well as the supervision of cable cars. With the amendment that has now been initiated, the Cable Car Act will be adapted to current EU law. The implementation of the planning approval process is now included as a simplified procedure in the new law as a rule. In addition, the expansion of the scope of the planning approval process to include projects with an obligation to carry out an environmental impact assessment is made possible by special regulations on public participation. This serves the goal of reducing bureaucracy and simplifying the implementation of projects.
This means that new solutions for public transport can be implemented faster than before.
Background public transport offensive
In December 2019, the Ministry of Transport started a public transport offensive. For this purpose, 2 billion euros are available in North Rhine-Westphalia by 2031. The offensive bundles a large number of projects that make public transport in North Rhine-Westphalia more attractive, efficient, reliable and flexible. Better local public transport, both in the urban centers and in the rural areas of North Rhine-Westphalia, is a central goal of the state government's transport policy. For better, safer and cleaner mobility, cable cars can also represent a component of passenger transport. That is why the Ministry of Transport has now introduced an amendment to the cable car law in the state parliament.
