Mobility in Dresden
Q: Do I need my own car in Dresden?
A: According to the Kraftfahrt Bundesamt, we have 230,581 registered cars in Dresden as of 1 January 2023, 32,641 of which are commercial. With 197,940 private cars per 563,281 inhabitants (as of 30 November 2022), this makes 0.35 cars per inhabitant or, converted to the 307,464 households (as of the end of 2022), 0.64 cars per household. Assuming that there are also households with more than one car, the answer is: no, you can manage quite well without your own car.
Q: How do you park in Dresden?
A: There are often free parking spaces, but the further you get into the city centre, the more difficult it becomes. If you're a resident, a resident parking permit can pay for itself very quickly for currently just 30€ a year. For the parking spaces operated by the city, several apps are supported. Currently parking costs between 0.50€ and 2.50€ per hour up to 6.00€ to 30.00€ per day - depending on how far in the centre and whether you use a simple parking space or a guarded car park. Since parking in the city centre can be very expensive, Park & Ride or Bike & Ride is a good option. Many of these parking spaces are free of charge and well connected to public transport.
Q: How good is Dresden's public transport?
A: According to the ÖPNV-Kundenbarometer, a public transportation customer survey, Dresden has the best public transport - and that for six years in a row. The Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB) operate (as of 2021) 12 tram lines over 213km and 29 bus lines over 323km with a combined 722 stops. 110.3 million passengers were transported, i.e. over 300,000 per day. That's a hefty Corona bump from 164.3m in 2019, or over 450,000 per day. In addition to bus, rail and ferry lines, Dresden also has several S-Bahn routes and a whole range of bus routes for the almost 100,000 commuters from the Dresden conurbation every day. In addition, DVB also operates a bike and car sharing network, a shuttle service and a number of electric charging stations with various partners - all under the label MOBI.
Q: What apps are available for mobility in Dresden?
A: DVB now offers a complete programme for individual mobility. DVB itself offers an app for connection information and tickets. In addition, both DVB and VVO, the higher-level transport association of the Upper Elbe, support FAIRTIQ, an app that always assigns you to the right fare. For Android users, Öffi is the more convenient tip for connection information. For bike sharing there is a cooperation with nextbike, for car sharing with teilauto. Teilauto is also quite common in Dresden, apart from the black and yellow MOBIcars. And finally, the eScooters from Lime can be found in almost all of Dresden.