Meet the BUS2BUS Advisory Board: Felix Thielmann

As a member of the BUS2BUS Advisory Board, Felix Thielmann brings with him many years of experience from DB Regio and DB InfraGO, as well as his passion for democratic mobility. He believes that local transport is a vital tool for social participation and for connecting urban and rural areas, as well as being essential for achieving equal living conditions. To date, his focus has been on integrating different modes of transport and ensuring basic services, with the aim of making local public transport more visible, accessible, and comprehensive. He is now responsible for the replacement transport services designed for this purpose as part of the DB infrastructure's general renovation.

1. In your opinion, what developments are currently having the greatest impact on the bus and mobility industry?

In my opinion, the current public transport issues — the transition to electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and the financing of public transport and the Germany-wide ticket — are just the tip of the iceberg. All of these issues are very important! However, even very low prices won't offer customers any significant added value if they don't focus on the service itself, regardless of whether a bus is electric or autonomous. Buses, especially in rural areas, do not become twice as full after a reduction in frequency — for example, from once an hour to once every two hours — but become even emptier.

Unfortunately, public authorities responsible for transport are being forced to make significant savings, which is having a negative, long-term impact on the attractiveness of local transport. Many initiatives and innovations that would be an important step in the transport transition currently have little or no future prospects due to a lack of funding.

Public mobility is also significantly affected by the current poor state of the German rail network. Long-distance transport is suffering greatly from low reliability. We are currently working intensively on this as part of the general renovation in order to finally get things back on track.

2. What role does sustainability play in your working environment and what opportunities do you see for the industry?

In addition to the issue of participation, sustainability is the baseline for most people in the public transport industry. Ultimately, though, it's also about making money. This is much easier when you know you're on the 'right side'.

One of the key tasks in public transport as a whole, and in my current role, is to create an attractive range of rail and road services in order to reduce demand for other modes of transport that tend to be more harmful to the climate.

In my immediate working environment, the focus is on organising replacement road transport for various high-performance corridors throughout Germany that will be renovated over the next few years. During this time, various corridors will be closed completely for periods of five to eight months, and we will provide local transport passengers with comprehensive, high-quality replacement transport services.

This was most recently the case last year on the Frankfurt am Main – Mannheim route and, since this summer, on the Hamburg – Berlin route. We are working hard with all our partners, especially our bus partners, to minimise the shift to motorised private transport. Our goal is to retain all passengers within the system after the refurbishment by providing replacement transport services that are surprisingly good. This establishes us as a key facilitator of the transport transition.

3. What are your expectations for BUS2BUS 2026 – which topics should the industry discuss there in particular?

Overall, despite frequent disagreements and competitive thinking, the bus industry does a very good job of coming together like a family and pushing issues forward. In my experience, BUS2BUS offers the perfect 'campfire' where we can gather, exchange ideas, and celebrate each other's achievements.

Personally, I would be delighted if, in addition to the highly relevant topics already mentioned, we could discuss the role of the bus industry once again, especially with regard to replacement transport. I am also interested in public transport's image, the bus driver profession and public transport's role as a driver of democracy and basic service provider.

4. Is there a bus experience that has particularly stuck in your memory?

Fortunately, such experiences are commonplace, and most of them involve the added personal value provided by dedicated drivers. In terms of the warmth of personal interactions, our society has become a little colder. However, many bus drivers are shining examples of how to resolve difficult situations.

I have one memorable experience from my school days in a suburb of Berlin. On more than one occasion, our bus driver lured a herd of wild boars off the road with some old bread that he had brought along as a precaution. The road was then clear again, but, rather oddly, the boars soon returned.

5. If you didn't work in the mobility industry, what other field could you see yourself working in?

I actually studied hotel management because I enjoy creating good experiences in an international environment with excellent service.

Perhaps, in many years' time, I will find my way back to the industry on a very small scale and in a private capacity. But hopefully without the huge stress surrounding yield management and staff turnover!

6. How can bus transport – especially away from the railways – help to create equal living conditions between urban and rural areas, and what specific approaches is DB Regio pursuing in this regard?

I can only speak about DB Regio's initiatives to a certain extent. As far as I can remember, Regio is pursuing many good ideas and initiatives to make public transport more appealing in various model regions. However, as a transport company, you can only implement these in the long term. They must be commissioned by local politicians and the relevant authorities. In this regard, a certain level of support from passengers over a long period of time is very helpful.

In my opinion, the impact of public transport on equal living conditions is not sufficiently recognised. Clearly, people who are effectively cut off from mobile life and the privileges that come with it also feel excluded. If we want people to live outside big cities, earn a living there and provide for us, we must offer them something worthwhile. Otherwise, we will have to accept the consequences.