A drive device (1) for a conveying cart of a conveying device contains a drive source (34) and a drive-force transmission (6) for transmitting a drive force of the drive source (34) to a drive element (2). The conveying cart can be fastened to the drive element (2) and the drive force can be transmitted to the drive element (2) from the drive-force transmission (6) by a force-locking or frictional-locking connection. A drive element (2) for the drive device (1) has a first long side (36) with ribs (38) and joints (40) transverse to the longitudinal direction of the drive element (2) for permitting negotiation of curves, and a second long side (42) opposite the first long side (36) is flat. A conveying-cart drive (4) for a conveying cart of a conveying device contains the drive device (1) and the drive element (2).