Agora Verkehrswende

Agora Verkehrswende (literally "Agora Transport Transition") is a German non-profit think tank headquartered in Berlin that works on the transformation of mobility and transport toward climate neutrality. It is part of the Agora Think Tanks family, alongside Agora Energiewende, Agora Industrie and Agora Agrar, and is funded by the Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation. The organisation was founded in 2016 and marked its tenth anniversary in 2026 with a celebratory event under the motto "10 Jahre Verkehrswende: Route neu berechnen?" ("10 years of transport transition: recalculating the route?"). Agora Verkehrswende produces studies, data analyses and policy proposals covering the full breadth of the transport transition: public transport, electromobility and charging infrastructure, freight and logistics, aviation and shipping fuels, urban mobility, digitalisation and autonomous driving, industrial policy and sector coupling, and international climate and transport policy. Its work is aimed at decision-makers in politics, business, associations and civil society. A prominent example of its output is the ÖV-Atlas (public transport atlas), an analysis measuring the quality of bus and rail services across Germany, which found that around 30 million people are well connected while 21 million are poorly connected. The think tank operates internationally as well as domestically. It runs programmes on international cooperation with a focus on Africa, Latin America and Asia, and it has published and convened events on the African Union's electromobility strategy, framing sustainable transport as a key to Africa's prosperity and to European-African partnerships. Its international work includes webinars and publications with partners such as the African Union Commission. Agora Verkehrswende is governed by a directorate led by Director Christian Hochfeld, with Wiebke Zimmer as Deputy Director, and organised into project teams covering municipal climate and transport policy, urban mobility, climate and transport economics, mobility and health, public transport, electromobility and charging infrastructure, fuels for aviation and shipping, industrial policy and sector coupling, digitalisation and autonomous driving, and international cooperation. It also maintains a Rat (Council) that brings together selected figures from business, society and politics for confidential dialogue under the Chatham House Rule; the Council has no control or decision-making function. Its members have included Achim Steiner (University of Oxford), Felix Matthes (Öko-Institut), Werner Gatzer (former State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG), Winfried Hermann (former Transport Minister of Baden-Württemberg), Uwe Schneidewind (former Mayor of Wuppertal), Ingrid Hoven (GIZ) and Dirk Messner (German Environment Agency). As a non-profit, non-listed organisation, Agora Verkehrswende does not sell products in the conventional sense; its "offerings" are studies, datasets, policy papers, press releases, webinars and events. It collaborates with a broad partner network including the ADFC, Becker Büttner Held, the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Climate Analytics, Consentec, GIZ, the German County Association, the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, the German Association of Cities, the German Institute of Urban Affairs and the German Aerospace Center's Institute of Transport Research.

Agora Verkehrswende was founded in 2016 as part of the Agora Think Tanks network, which also includes Agora Energiewende, Agora Industrie and Agora Agrar. It is funded by the Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation and is headquartered in Berlin. The organisation was established to provide independent, evidence-based analysis and policy advice on the transformation of Germany's transport sector toward climate neutrality. Over its first decade, Agora Verkehrswende built a broad research and convening agenda. It produced studies and datasets on public transport, electromobility and charging infrastructure, freight and logistics, aviation and shipping fuels, urban mobility, digitalisation and autonomous driving, industrial policy and sector coupling, and international climate and transport policy. A notable output is the ÖV-Atlas, an analysis measuring the quality of bus and rail services across Germany, which found that around 30 million people are well connected while 21 million are poorly connected. The think tank also expanded its international work, with programmes focused on Africa, Latin America and Asia. It has published and convened events on the African Union's electromobility strategy, framing sustainable transport as a key to Africa's prosperity and to European-African partnerships. In 2026, Agora Verkehrswende marked its tenth anniversary with a celebratory event under the motto "10 Jahre Verkehrswende: Route neu berechnen?" ("10 years of transport transition: recalculating the route?"). Governance is provided by a directorate led by Director Christian Hochfeld, with Wiebke Zimmer as Deputy Director, and by a Rat (Council) that brings together selected figures from business, society and politics for confidential dialogue under the Chatham House Rule. The Council has no control or decision-making function. Its members have included Achim Steiner (University of Oxford), Felix Matthes (Öko-Institut), Werner Gatzer (former State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG), Winfried Hermann (former Transport Minister of Baden-Württemberg), Uwe Schneidewind (former Mayor of Wuppertal), Ingrid Hoven (GIZ) and Dirk Messner (German Environment Agency). The organisation collaborates with a broad partner network including the ADFC, Becker Büttner Held, the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Climate Analytics, Consentec, GIZ, the German County Association, the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, the German Association of Cities, the German Institute of Urban Affairs and the German Aerospace Center's Institute of Transport Research.

• 2026

  Tenth anniversary celebrated with the event '10 Jahre Verkehrswende: Route neu berechnen?'.

• 2016

  Agora Verkehrswende is founded as part of the Agora Think Tanks network.

• Publication of the ÖV-Atlas analysis on public transport quality in Germany.

• Publication and event on sustainable transport as the key to Africa's prosperity.

• Press release on the African Union's electromobility strategy and European-African partnerships.

Independent, non-partisan think tank providing evidence-based policy analysis and dialogue platforms for the transport transition.

• ÖV-Atlas

  Analysis measuring the quality of public transport across Germany.

• Electromobility and charging infrastructure studies

  Research and policy proposals on electromobility and charging infrastructure.

• International cooperation programmes

  Programmes on international cooperation with a focus on Africa, Latin America and Asia.

1. 1Agora Verkehrswende official websiteagora-verkehrswende.de
2. 2Ratagora-verkehrswende.de
3. 3Teamagora-verkehrswende.de
4. 4Partneragora-verkehrswende.de
5. 5Wikidatawikidata.org