Purdue University’s 2-credit spring break study abroad entitled “Collaborations, Cars, and Commerce: Collisions with German Culture” would be too cost-prohibitive for students to participate if not for the modern German “transport” network (aka, “transportation”, as it is referred to in America).
Not only does the German transport network enable resourceful mobility for people, but it also quickly and efficiently moves, parts, raw materials, components, and products to and from their respective sites. Facilitated by a comprehensive high-speed telecommunications network, the success of so many organizations operating there is no surprise. The continued expansion of supply chain organizations includes three multinational automobile organizations (Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW), all operating within a mere 230 km (140 miles) of one another. The capability of these factories to import and export effortlessly is essential for the development of any modern supply chain organization, particularly as they have developed industry 4.0-based smart manufacturing processes that rely on just-in-time communications along with robust infrastructure.
Economic development in Germany has long been buoyed by the country’s strong transportation system that facilitates both people’s and products’ travel from place to place. For instance, employees’ daily commute to these production facilities (oftentimes from far distances) is seamless, allowing for selection of employees from an expanded pool of applicants, thus forming a solid organizational culture that can be easily built and sustained. Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (2016) surmised that “Infrastructure and mobility are the foundation of growth, prosperity and jobs” (p. 2).
Germany’s history of commerce with regional EU economic markets has long been enhanced by its central geographic location in the heart of the continent, and state-of-the-art infrastructure has continuously allowed for ease of access to goods across its border during politically peaceful times. The port of Hamburg in northern Germany has a notable history of international trade: at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Hamburg-America shipping line was the world’s largest trans-Atlantic global logistics organization. Availability and access to German ports such as the port of Hamburg have been integral to the rise of the German economy in eras of free trade. Current federal policies facilitate attracting skilled workers from outside the country, which was accelerated after the EU allowed free mobility in 1995 within member states. Today, of the 134,000+ German guest workers (international employees based in their EU country of residence) employed in the country, 54k are from Luxembourg, 37k from the Netherlands, and 26K from Austria (European Commission, 2024).
US President Eisenhower took note of the German transportation infrastructure when he was a general in World War II, using it as an inspiration for the US Interstate Highway System in the 1950’s. Since then, the vast freeway network has become a staple of American culture, and the car has far and away been the preferred mode of transportation. With over four million miles of highways, the US, unlike Germany, has a mere 160,000 miles of passenger rail (Henderson and Abbott, 2022), a marked decrease compared to when almost 9% of all American employees used public transit (buses, subways, etc.) to travel to work a half century ago (Freemark, 2021). A mere ≈1% of employees utilize public transportation to get to work in Indianapolis, Indiana, the capitol city and metropolis an hour away from Purdue’s campus. Increasingly, driving on American freeways and interstates often results in vehicle interactions with potholes, and many Americans point to California’s cracking and dilapidated Pacific Coast Highway, often referred to as “Pothole Coast Highway” (Jackson, 2017) as a symbol of American cultural decline.
Utilizing the country’s central geography, German public and private stakeholders constantly evaluate how to improve and further innovate in their transport system. Attitudes of German citizens are paramount when the government considers public infrastructure investments. In a pre-pandemic poll, 63% of German citizens rated both their airports as well as their motorways as very or fairly good, but only 38% rated rail at the same rates (Statista, 2019), prompting massive influxes of funding for the German rail system, which now includes over 20K kilometers of electrified rail crisscrossing the country. Another evolving innovation related to the transport system is Wi-Fi coverage, as Deutsche Telekom, an integrated telecommunications organization, covers 97.2% of the country with 4G and 89% with 5G as of 2023 (Tomas, 2023). German Wi-Fi provides efficient a real-time digital communication system that allows for easy of public transport pickups and other valuable information that connects all corners of the country, comprising 9,700 antennas nationwide.
Germany developed a comprehensive, massive infrastructure initiative, the 2030 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan (FTIP), which includes €141.6 billion devoted to maintaining current infrastructure as well as €98.3 billion to new, cutting-edge infrastructure with a goal of less congestion and more capacity on roads, rail, and waterways (Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, 2016). Offshore wind power initiatives are also to be accelerated (Wehrmann, 2023). The federal government devoted €23 billion to public transport infrastructure alone in 2022 (Statista, 2023). Due to this longstanding focus on infrastructure, Germany has been labeled as a global powerhouse in the transport sector. More than 85% of German citizens have efficient access to public transport with 10 billion trips annually on short-distance transit alone (Statista, 2024).
Today, Germany’s pressing national transport initiatives include energy development for its vast rail and waterway networks. This process has been accelerated due to issues related to an unanticipated lack of available energy after the Nord Stream pipeline, where 40% of the EU fuel was sourced (McHugh, 2023), was destroyed via sabotage in the summer of 2022. This pipeline previously supplied imported energy from the east via cheap natural gas from Russia and was prevalently used across the country as a power supply for many factories.
In reaction, in the summer months of 2022, the German government launched an innovative subsidized €9 ticket program for all monthly travel to offset the anticipated rising energy costs. The state-run Deutsche Bahn railway company coordinated this initiative, which included the u-bahn (urban subway) and s-bahn (subway to the suburbs) metros, trams, buses, regional trains, and other regional and local travel options. Although it was massively popular, it brought unintended consequences, such as congestion in the transport system, leading to delays on rail and public transport (although those who were willing to change trains and expect possible delays could get anywhere throughout the country). The government ultimately deemed this €9 program to be financially unsustainable.
In May 2023, after much debate about regional transport utilization methods, a revised program, the Deutschlandticket (referred to by locals as the D-ticket) was launched. The D-ticket costs €49/month for the same unlimited regional travel across the country which the government partially subsidizes. This led to 11 million travel participants buying the D-ticket within several months and was labeled as an “important part of decarbonizing the mobility sector” (para. 3), as it successfully reduced carbon emissions by 1.8 million tons (McGovan, 2023).
Ironically, these flat-rate monthly regional travel programs have encountered staunch opposition by transport sector stakeholders, namely the German automobile industry, an influential coalition who consider these initiatives a forced shift away from a long-established national culture of driving (Napolitano, 2023). There is much historical pride in the automobile in Germany, as long ago, “the car became a symbol of the country’s technical excellence and of individual choice and freedom” (Jackson, 2023, para. 11). It is not by chance that the sturdy German infrastructure and iconic automobile culture have advanced in conjunction over the decades, as efficient production and global distribution of automobiles has been the envy of the world for decades. The automobile culture in Germany is often associated with the country’s world-renowned autobahn highway system and has been labeled the “backbone industry in Germany” (Germany Trade & Invest, 2023, p. 2). However, concerns have recently increased that many of these government initiatives will cause the industry to fall behind its Chinese competitors (Kaufmann, 2023). Even though “firm is the automobile’s grip on Germany’s economic and cultural life” (Jackson, 2023, para. 5), national energy initiatives limiting automobile usage continue, such as the recent replacement of traffic lanes for pedestrian-only usage in Berlin.
There is no better way to master Germany’s transport network than experiential learning, as navigating from place to place provides the perfect opportunities to acquire knowledge about the efficient modes of German public transport. As such, Germany’s comprehensive rapid transit system facilitated cheap and easy mobility to efficiently engage in activities such as factory tours as well as other intercultural excursions. Students on this study abroad maneuvered through various modes of transportation to travel to the Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW multinational automobile organization factories to learn about how their industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing processes have facilitated new, innovative supply chain production capabilities. Students witnessed real time assembly of these vehicles and found out quickly why the highest quality vehicles on earth are manufactured here.
While pictures were not allowed during the tours of the production facilities, the Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche museums and showrooms allowed up-close opportunities to check out a vast array of historically-significant models as well as innovative new models.
In the pedagogical pursuit of encouraging, enabling, and establishing personal freedom of mobility, paper maps, apps, and other common instructional methods were utilized. Purdue students quickly learned how to navigate the German transport system and developed a newfound ability to efficiently travel to any regional spot at a moment’s notice, which most could not previously claim. This freedom of mobility allowed students to pursue evening plans and make memories via use of the u-bahn, s-bahn, trams, buses, and/or other modes of transportation (see below).
Olympic Village to our Munich hotel in city centre…
Dachau memorial concentration camp to the Glockenspiel…
Munich hotel in city centre to Munich Airport (MUC)…
Ancillary intercultural activities included, of course, Bavarian restaurant culture, which stereotypically involves long, rectangular high-capacity tables that Americans may consider to be akin to elementary school cafeteria configurations. Ironically, strangers in Germany do not generally greet or chat on public transport, but in this setting, they often converse enthusiastically with fellow patrons they have just met. Most young Germans travel to these venues via public transport, bypassing any potential issue thereafter with driving home, considering the low blood-alcohol driving threshold. Truly, these businesses benefit greatly from ease of access from patrons so far away. As such, culture and commerce go hand-in-hand in Germany.
The group utilized the city of Reutlingen’s public transport bus system to travel from the hotel to Purdue partner institution Reutlingen University, home of their Learning Factory, for an impactful day. Students studied industry 4.0 via lectures from their faculty and graduate staff, who delivered insight on topics such as AI, blockchain, and cobots. Students then applied the knowledge by working as part of a multifunctional team producing scooters and recorded/inputted quantitative data into a Yamazumi chart, which is a stacked bar chart depicting the balances of cycle time workloads in-between the various production functions in order to assess efficiencies, wasted time/deficiencies, and means to correct the system’s production flaws.
Purdue’s newly launched dual degree master’s program allows students who have completed their bachelor’s degrees to enroll and complete two master’s degrees (MS from Purdue in Engineering Technology, MS from Reutlingen in Digital Industrial Management & Engineering) in just two years, and Purdue looks forward to welcoming two Reutlingen graduate students to study in West Lafayette in the Fall, 2024 semester. During the two days in Reutlingen, many students traveled to the city of Tübingen during the evenings, a Gen Z destination easily available by public transport. Of course, the most memorable memories on trips are created outside of the structured activities, and buoyed by a coinciding Champions League match consisting of a prominent Bundesliga club, the time spent with some of these Reutlingen students after hours made for some quite noteworthy extracurricular experiences (see below).
Of course, this region of the world is known not only for its advanced transport network but also its globally-significant political history and other world-renown sites such as the Glockenspiel, Allianz Arena, Dachau concentration camp, Olympic Village, and the Royal Palace/Munich Residenz (see below). If it were not for the efficient public transport, these endeavors would have been far too time-consuming and costly to endeavor.
In collaboration with the Purdue Alumni Association, the trip hosted a Purdue alumni gathering to coincide with our study abroad’s last event, a dinner at Hofbräuhaus, which turned into an impactful and eventful evening. The Purdue students benefited greatly from hearing about the paths of these amazing Purdue alumni and how globalization propelled their career trajectories. It was never more apparent to the students on this trip than during this fellowship time that Purdue truly moves the world forward.
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European Commission. (2024). EuroStat, 2.3 Crossing Borders. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/digpub/eumove/bloc-2c.html?lang=en.
Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. (2024). Mobility section. https://bmdv.bund.de/SharedDocs/EN/Articles/G/federal-transport-infrastructure-plan-2030.html.
The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. (2016). The 2020 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. https://bmdv.bund.de/SharedDocs/EN/publications/2030-federal-transport-infrastructure-plan.pdf?__blob=publicationFile.
Freemark, Y. (2021, June). US Public Transit Has Struggled to Retain Riders over the Past Half Century: Reversing this trend could advance equity and sustainability. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/us-public-transit-has-struggled-retain-riders-over-past-half-century-reversing-trend-could-advance-equity-and-sustainability.
Germany Trade & Invest. (2023). Industry Overview: The automotive industry in Germany. https://www.gtai.de/resource/blob/64100/8fc3cff5774c2ec699172cd823a0ec0e/20220711_IO_Automotive_WEB.pdf.
Henderson, E., & Abbott, J. (2022, June). American Exceptionalism Off the Rails. Jacobin.com https://jacobin.com/2022/06/american-exceptionalism-off-the-rails.
Jackson, J. (2023, May). Berlin’s Efforts to Reduce Driving Stalled by German Car Culture. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-26/germany-s-love-of-autos-puts-the-brakes-on-berlin-s-car-free-dreams.
Jackson, K. (2017). Pothole Coast Highway. City Journal. https://www.city-journal.org/article/pothole-coast-highway.
Kaufmann, D. (2023, December). German auto industry: Will 2024 mark a turning point? Deutsche Welle. https://www.dw.com/en/german-auto-industry-will-2024-mark-a-turning-point/a-67718435.
McGovan, J. (2023, September). Number of Public Transport Users Rising in Germany in First Half of 2023. Journal for the Energy Transition. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/number-public-transport-users-rising-germany-first-half-2023.
McHugh, D. (2023, September). Germany Went from Envy of the World to the Worst-performing Major Developed Economy: What happened? Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/germany-economy-energy-crisis-russia-8a00eebbfab3f20c5c66b1cd85ae84ed.
Napolitano, A. (2023, November). Why Germany’s Game-Changing Deutschland Ticket Is Under Fire. Napos. https://napolitano.de/latest/why-germanys-game-changing-deutschland-ticket-is-under-fire.
Statista. (2019). Transportation and Logistics. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1090837/infrastructure-quality-survey-germany/.
Statista. (2023). Federal public expenditure on transport infrastructure in Germany from 2016 to 2022, by type. Construction/Heavy Construction. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1293915/federal-expenditure-transport-infrastructure-in-germany-by-type/.
Statista. (2024). Public Transportation in Germany. https://www.statista.com/topics/9605/public-transport-in-germany/#topicOverview.
Tomas, J. (2023, September). 5G Coverage in Germany as of July Showed an Increase of 38.1 Percentage Points Compared to July 2022. RCRwireless News. https://www.rcrwireless.com/20230926/5g/german-telcos-rapidly-expand-5g-coverage-germany-regulator.
Wehrmann, B. (2023, May). Nord Stream Cost Germany Dearly, Wind Power Now Priority in Baltic Sea – foreign minister. Journal for the Energy Transition. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/nord-stream-cost-germany-dearly-wind-power-now-priority-baltic-sea-foreign-minister.