Threatened recourse at the Court of Justice of the European Union, like eight other states including France Germany gives pledges in Brussels. Invited to reduce air pollution in German cities, the government has proposed to the European Commission to test free public transport in five cities, including Bonn, Essen and Reutlingen.
In connection with the Länder and municipalities, “we are considering free public transport to reduce the number of passenger cars” in circulation, says a letter sent on 11 February by the ministers of Environment, Transport and Finance to the European Commissioner for the Environment, Karmenu Vella, whose “Les Echos” obtained a copy.
Five pilot cities
The experiment must first be carried out in five pilot cities and, if successful, be extended to other municipalities whose emissions of particulate pollutants exceed European standards. The proposal for free public transport has met with mixed reactions. The Greens have called it “powder in the eyes” and called for action against car manufacturers.
“The existing system would absolutely not be able to withstand a sudden and rapid increase in passengers,” warned the federation of transport companies (VDV), requesting compensation for the 12 billion euros in lost revenue from the sale of tickets. “The federal government must say how it wants to finance this,” added the federation of communal boards (VKU).
For Angela Merkel, the priority is to avoid a ban on the circulation of diesel vehicles in the cities concerned, which include major cities. The pressure is rising. On 22 February, the Federal Administrative Court could uphold a judgment of the Stuttgart court, which ruled in favor of an NGO calling for a ban on diesel cars on its streets.
In response to these threats, the government has also proposed in Brussels “additional technical measures that are effective and economically feasible”. Volkswagen, Daimler or BMW, however, refuse to support this intervention, which would reduce NOx emissions by 90% but represents an average cost of 1,300 euros per vehicle, according to a report submitted to the government.
France too in the viewfinder
The nine countries convened on 30 January by Brussels had ten days to submit new proposals to improve the situation. France has also submitted its plan for improving air quality. The Ministry of Ecological Transition said on Tuesday that it “will already be able to eliminate exceedances of limit values for PM10 (fine particles) from 2020”, except in a few areas. The Commission gives itself a month to judge the quality of the copies and to act accordingly.