Green Goal 2006 - Action on Transport 

At the centre of the Green Goal activities was the transport of visitors to and from the host cities and World Cup stadiums, which was intended to be as environmentally friendly as possible.  Since cars and aircraft, compared to public means of transport, produced considerably more harmful emissions and noise, a key objective was to encourage spectators to use bus and rail transport to travel to host cities.  They were also encouraged to travel by foot or bicycle to and from the stadiums on match days.

Increased share of local public transport

Stadiums in many cities were well integrated into the local public transport network, and these were expanded for the World Cup in order to improve capacity and passenger comfort.  Measures ranged from the construction of new routes to improving the capacity and efficiency of particular routes and improving bus and tram stops.  A number of platforms were improved to allow for easy access for people in wheelchairs. Nine of the twelve World Cup stadiums were connected to the respective main station by at least two rail-based local transport systems or by two local lines of the same transport system.  

The frequency of local transport services was greatly increased on match days in all host cities and some cities offered extended or around-the-clock services. More frequent services and longer operating times did require the operation of additional trains.  This was only possible because many host cities co-ordinated the timing of their regular replacement of buses and rail-stock with the World Cup, with all vehicles remaining in services until the end of the tournament.  This way, uneconomic purchasing of additional vehicles could be avoided, which would have been a heavy, long-term financial burden on local public transport companies.  

In order to make the use of public transport as simple and as relaxed as possible for visitors and in particular for foreign visitors, a special routing systems "Routes at a glance" was developed.  The self-explanatory modular system of signs comprised of three fields.  The first field contained the World Cup logo, the second showed the way to the stadium, station or transport and the third provided information on corresponding transport.  

 A special "Welcome Desk" was set up at every railway station for the World Cup, where information was provided in the languages of participating countries.  Announcements at stations and on trains were made in German and English and generally also in the languages of participating countries.  At key stops on the public transport network annoucements were also made in several languages.

Reduction in environmental pollution in the area around stadiums

Parking was rarely available for visitors at stadiums.  "Park and Ride" facilities were therefore provided in all host cities, so that motorists could transfer to public transport to reach stadiums or open-air, public viewing events in the cities.  A traffic control system on the motorways directed motorists to designated parking areas.  Sufficient parking space was provided for coaches as near as possible to the stadiums, and most cities introduced a registration procedure for coach operators to optimise parking.   

To reduce journeys by car to the stadiums, a bus shuttle service was set up for VIPs, personnel and journalists at the main hotels in host cities as well as at railway stations and airports.  940 bus-operating days were required for journalists alone, and a further 660 for personnel and the airport shuttle.  

With the exception of Kaiserslautern, where the stadium lies on a hill, between 200 and 600 bicycle parking spaces were provided at all stadiums during the World Cup.  

In co-operation with TOTAL, two buses with hydrogen-powered engines were used for the airport shuttle service in berlin.  The buses emit practically no pollutants and already lie below the Euro IV exhaust emission threshold value.  Since hydrogen for the fuel cells was produced with certified electricity from renewable sources, the buses were not only pollutant-free, but also CO₂ neutral.