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Between cost pressures and the structural debate: Thuringia's transport industry calls for a change of course.
Right at the outset, the association expresses fundamental criticism of federal policy. “The federal government does not act; it has been reacting for years,” says the resolution. Instead of addressing structural problems, measures would be adopted that would heavily burden companies, dampen their willingness to invest, and create planning uncertainty.
This diagnosis runs through the entire document. The companies find themselves between rising costs, regulatory requirements, and an increasingly volatile market environment. Energy prices, in particular, remain a central point of contention. The association regards relief measures by the government as inadequate. A corresponding law remains “completely inadequate,” while the underlying causes—such as market structures in the energy sector—are not addressed consistently.
Economic pressure reaches the SME sector
The consequences described by the association in clear terms: “Small- and medium-sized transport companies can no longer withstand cost pressure.” Rising fuel prices, declining orders and slim margins have led to that “closures of operations and bankruptcies would be the consequence.”
This also ties the LTV to a location issue. Thuringian companies would face growing competitive disadvantages—not least due to lengthy permitting procedures and additional bureaucracy. Against this backdrop, a central appeal to policymakers is directed: They should “take measures that end the crisis and relieve the transport companies as well as provide long-term planning certainty.” At the same time the association calls for reducing the growing distance between politics and the population – a sign that economic questions are already politically charged.
Tax policy and working time in focus
A concrete starting point is the design of tax relief. The tax-free bonus discussed so far is said to fall short. Many companies could not pay it given the higher costs. The association therefore calls for a more flexible solution: “We demand that 1,000 EUR or more of the employees' current wages can be paid tax- and social-security-free.”
Also in terms of working time law, the LTV sees a need for adjustment. While European guidelines focus on weekly working hours, Germany clings to a daily maximum working time. From the association's point of view, a competitive disadvantage. The demand is accordingly clearly formulated: “We demand the abolition of a daily maximum working time in the German Working Time Act.”
Bureaucracy as a structural problem
Bureaucracy occupies a broad space in the resolution. The association demands, among other things, to temporarily exempt transport companies from the provisions of the Energy Efficiency Act – at least as long as economically viable alternatives to diesel propulsion are lacking. Otherwise costs would arise for “certifications, audits and action plans,” which would have no real savings effect.
Also at the state level the association sees a need for action. For example, the digital retrieval of HU certificates in taxi- and rental-vehicle traffic should be enabled. In addition, the LTV advocates simplifying special permits for driving into pedestrian zones and replacing them with flat-rate regulations.
Infrastructure and Permits in Freight Transport
In freight transport, the demands focus on infrastructure and procedures. The parking situation for trucks is described by the association as inadequate. Drivers could often not comply with statutory rest periods because parking spaces were missing or overcrowded. The authorities should respond quickly here and deploy the available resources more selectively.
Also in permits the LTV sees a need to catch up. Thuringia is regarded by the association as particularly slow in processing large-scale and heavy transports. This leads to competitive disadvantages. Accelerated procedures and more flexibility for recurring transports are demanded.
In the use of long trucks, the association pleads for a pragmatic expansion. These vehicles are more efficient and could contribute to relieving staffing and reducing environmental impact. Accordingly the LTV calls for shorter permit procedures and an expansion of deployment possibilities, for example also for hazardous goods transports.
Taxi as Part of Public Provision of Mobility
For the taxi industry, the section of the resolution on passenger transport is particularly relevant. Here the association positions itself clearly in favor of the traditional taxi trade—and at the same time differentiates itself from publicly funded on-demand projects.
Critically it says that “more and more money is being thrown out of funding pots […] for short-term pilot projects […]”. These offers often have low utilization and a questionable cost-benefit ratio.
The LTV presents a different model: the taxi as an integral part of public mobility. “We call for greater consideration of taxis in local transport planning.” Taxis could supplement or replace scheduled services, especially in rural areas and in peripheral regions.
The association also ties this to an economic perspective. A better utilization of commercially operated taxis could help to limit fare increases. The aim is to bring the taxi back more strongly into the center of the public provision of mobility.
Industry Demands Reliability
The resolution is more than a catalogue of demands. It is the expression of an industry under pressure, while at the same time contending for its role in the transport system. Between digitization, new mobility forms, and traditional business models, the balance of power is shifting.
The LTV does not formulate a fundamental systemic change, but primarily demands reliability: clear rules, practical procedures, and stronger involvement of existing structures.
Whether these demands are adequately addressed politically this time remains to be hoped. However, the tone of the resolution suggests that patience in parts of the transport industry is fading.
Here follows the wording of the resolution:
RESOLUTION
The 36th Annual General Meeting of the Members
of the Thuringian State Association of the Transport Industry (LTV) e.V.
on 25 April 2026 in Weimar-Legefeld
The federal government does not act; it has been reacting for years. Instead of implementing necessary reforms that, among other things, solve the expenditure problem of the federal budget, laws are passed that heavily burden companies, dampen their willingness to invest, and create planning uncertainty.
Tax money that is hard-earned by companies is distributed worldwide, and companies, employees, and citizens are supposed to shoulder the burdens of reforms when reforms are pursued. This demotivates millions of hardworking people in Germany and Thuringia.
The state further passes a law intended to relieve companies and citizens from high energy prices, but it is utterly insufficient. Instead of imposing duties on the Cartel Office, promises from politics are made at the expense of entrepreneurs who cannot meet them because they are severely strained.
The consequence is an economic crisis that is hardly recoverable. Small and medium-sized transport companies can no longer withstand cost pressures and cannot compensate for lost orders. Closures and insolvencies are the result and are further driven by the currently high fuel prices due to lack of liquidity. The competitive disadvantages of Thuringian companies become ever more apparent.
For this reason we call on the federal government and the state government to take measures that end the crisis and relieve the transport companies as well as provide long-term planning security.
We also call on reducing the societal divide and the ever-widening distance between citizens and politicians through prudent action in the interests of all.
We hereby present the following demands:
Transport Companies
Redesign of the 1,000 EUR premium
The federal government should redesign the tax-free 1,000 EUR premium, which only very few transport companies can pay per truck due to the current additional fuel costs of 2,500 EUR and 200 EUR per month for taxis.
- We demand that 1,000 EUR or more of the current wages of employees can be paid out tax- and contribution-free. This would relieve companies and employees.
Harmonization of the Working Time Act to strengthen competitiveness
For the EU, working time rules for driving personnel are laid down in Directive 2002/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 and for other employees in Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003. In both directives only a weekly maximum working time is defined.
- We demand the abolition of a daily maximum working time in the German Working Time Act.
Reducing excessive bureaucracy
- We call on the federal government to exempt freight transport companies from the energy consumption calculation under the Energy Efficiency Act until economically viable alternatives for diesel-powered trucks exist. Otherwise, companies would have to spend unnecessary funds on certifications, audits and action plans that do not actually lead to lower energy consumption.
- We call on the state government to enable the digital retrieval of the HU certificate by the traffic authorities for taxi and hire car traffic.
- We call on the state government to replace the individual special permit for entering a pedestrian zone for boarding and disembarking of passengers and cargo with a general decree of the state of Thuringia.
Freight Transport
Improve truck parking availability
Drivers need sufficient parking spaces to comply with the statutory driving and rest times as well as working hours. Violations often occur because parking spaces are not available in sufficient numbers or are overcrowded.
- We call on the state government to quickly improve the parking situation on federal, state, and municipal roads as well as in industrial areas.
- Truck toll revenues and fines collected for violations of working, driving and rest times should be earmarked for the expansion of truck parking on Thuringian federal, state and municipal roads.
- Furthermore, we call for stopping closures of parking lots, reopening already closed parking areas, and lifting parking prohibitions in industrial areas.
Strengthen Lang-Lkw as an ecological and economic deployment and shorten application procedures
The use of Lang-Lkw is up to 25% more efficient and saves CO2, among other things. It also addresses the growing shortage of skilled workers.
- We call on the state government to significantly shorten the permit procedure, because the vehicles can maneuver around curves and roundabouts like standardized heavy-duty tractors (BO-Kraftkreis).
- We call on the state government to advocate with the federal government for Lang-Lkw to transport hazardous goods. We urge the federal government to implement this plan.
Improve permit procedures for large-scale and heavy transports (GST)
Thuringia is the state where obtaining a GST permit takes the longest in the nationwide comparison. This creates competitive disadvantages for the companies.
- We call on the state government to significantly accelerate the permitting process. Furthermore, we demand greater flexibility in using type-approved vehicle combinations and a permanent permit for GST that only slightly deviates in dimensions and weights.
Traffic with Taxis and Hire Cars
Taxis as Mobility Guarantee
Ever more money is being drawn from funding pots of the EU, the federal government, or the state for short-term pilot projects to test mobility offerings in rural and urban areas, for example to establish demand-responsive transport. Passenger transport companies commission on-demand providers or buy minibuses with up to eight passenger seats themselves, whose utilization leaves much to be desired and drives the cost-benefit ratio without subsidies into the absurd.
- We call on the state government and the agencies responsible to give greater consideration to the use of taxis in local transport planning. Line services can be densified, supplemented, or even replaced. In rural and fringe urban areas mobility can be improved. By increasing the utilization of commercially operated taxis, taxi fares do not need to be raised as much as in recent years. The taxi would return to the center of the public provision of mobility.
The participants of the 36th Annual General Meeting of the LTV e.V. have adopted the above resolution in concern for the economic position of Germany and their own economic existence.
Weimar, 25 April 2026
The Meeting Chair
The Thuringian State Association of the Transport Industry represents the interests of transport companies in the following three specialist associations:
- Specialist Association for Freight, Furniture Transport and Logistics Thuringia
- Specialist Association for Passenger Transport Thuringia
- Specialist Association for Passenger Transport Saxony-Anhalt.
Content automatically translated.
Taxi-Fahrzeuge (Pkw) , Taxi-Newsletter, Taxameter, Taxi-Fahrer , BZP – Deutscher Taxi- und Mietwagenverband , Straßenverkehrsordnung (StVO) , Krankenbeförderung , Weiterbildung , Taxi-Konzessionen , Verkehrspolitik , Mietwagenbranche , Taxi-Apps , Berufskraftfahrer-Qualifikations-Gesetz BKrFQG) , Taxizentralen , Personal, Gehälter, Arbeitsschutz , Wirtschaftsnachrichten , Werbung , Taxi-Folierung , Taxi-Umrüster , Straßenverkehr , Elektromobilität, Taxifuhrpark und -flottenmanagement , Taxi-Versicherungen , Hybrid, Diesel, Erdgas , Taxi-Magazin
