Would you like to know more about where the StUB runs? You can find the route plans on the Zweckverband website or you can join WIR PRO StUB, and some of us, on the bike tour along the StUB route on May 19. There you can see for yourself that the StUB, as a sustainable and efficient means of transportation, will directly connect important school and university locations as well as numerous large employers such as Siemens, Adidas, Puma and Schaeffler. It will be largely independent of road traffic and make a significant contribution to shifting traffic to local public transport.

Thanks to the state subsidy of 90 percent of the construction costs, we currently have the opportunity to redefine and massively strengthen the backbone of public transport more cheaply than ever before. This 90% would otherwise flow into public transport projects in other places in Germany.

We are not afraid of change, but look forward to what the future holds. We would therefore like to inform you about the vote on June 9th on the construction of the StUB and inform everyone well about this project so that everyone can vote accordingly.

Further information can be found at StUB Faktencheck, a website that has set itself the task of uncovering and correcting untruths on both sides of the debate.

Last but not least, there is the WIR PRO StUB alliance, which not only includes us, the Stuve and FAU, but also many other companies such as Siemens, Schaeffler, and Adidas, and people such as the University President Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger and many more. Under this link you can find events where you can exchange ideas with the Alliance in person.

The StUB is the most effective way to tackle all these problems. With expensive parts of a streetcar network already in place, such as a workshop for streetcars in Nuremberg, less expensive infrastructure will need to be built. The new construction is therefore mainly limited to the route itself. In combination with the high proportion of funding, the implementation of the streetcar extension is therefore cost-effective.

Hardly any other region in Germany has as many commuters as the greater Nuremberg area. A shift to public transport is not only sensible, but essential. However, buses can only help to a limited extent. They are far inferior to streetcars in terms of frequency, staffing requirements, capacity and efficiency. Anyone who has to commute regularly for their studies or work within Erlangen or between Herzogenaurach, Erlangen or Nuremberg knows how urgently changes are needed. Overcrowded buses to the Faculty of Engineering are the order of the day here and not the exception. In addition, the StUB runs a more regular timetable than buses (no more waiting at the "Am Wegfeld" stop) and is more reliable than the DB S-Bahn and regional trains.

StUB is therefore tackling issues where many people need better connections. It helps students to attend their courses on time and helps commuters to get to work faster and more comfortably. Erlangen has a total of approx. 64,000 commuters - more than half of the city's population also commutes to Erlangen every day.

As the new backbone of local public transport, the StUB is able to shift the bus routes it will replace and thus achieve greater and denser coverage away from the rail network. The shift from road to rail means that the project will pay for itself within just a few years, making it an effective means of combating climate change. According to current estimates, the StUB will shift 47 million car kilometers to rail every year, whereby the effects of the Deutschlandticket have not yet been taken into account.

The increase in operating costs will also remain within reasonable limits and, according to the experience of other cities such as Freiburg or Karlsruhe, will be covered by the economic growth generated. The project will therefore become a sure-fire success within a very short space of time and we will have the opportunity to further expand the streetcar system in future and to support and even drive forward Erlangen's growth.

But for all this to happen in the first place, we must all vote for the StUB on June 9. In Germany, outside Erlangen, there has never been a positive referendum for a streetcar. In places without a referendum, nobody wanted to be against it after a short time. That is a terrible pity and a wake-up call to us.

As with the European elections, postal voting is also possible for the StUB referendum, which should be of particular interest to visitors to Rock im Park. You can apply for postal voting online at this link between May 11 and June 2. However, you should pay attention online: The postal vote for the European elections could be applied for earlier, so to be on the safe side you should apply for the StUB vote separately as a postal vote. As the EU election and the StUB decision are two different elections with different eligible voters (including those aged 16 and 18 and over), you must apply for the postal vote separately in each case - or you can collect the documents together in person from the city. Regardless of whether the EU election or the StUB vote is particularly important to you, remember to fill in the democratic privilege for the other one as well.