Hamburg puts brake on diesel drivers with inner-city ban

THE city of Hamburg is to ban older diesel cars from two of its busiest streets next week as it seeks to get rising air pollution under control.

The move by Germany’s secondlargest city is the first in a series of similar bans being considered across the country in the wake of the “dieselgate” emissions scandal. Like the UK, Germany is under pressure from the European Commission to do more to curb air pollution levels in many of its cities.

But diesel owners fear bans may wipe out the second-hand value of their cars and motoring organisations yesterday accused chancellor Angela Merkel’s government of making drivers pay for the mistakes of the car making industry.

From May 31, diesel vehicles that do not meet the European Union’s latest emissions standards will be banned from a one-mile stretch of Stresemannstrasse, one of Hamburg’s main east-west thoroughfares, and a 600yard stretch of Max Brauer Allee.

Drivers will be forced to take lengthy detours to avoid the banned sections. Those who ignore the ban will face a €25 (£20) fine, or €75 for lorries.

The ban will apply to 165,050 diesel cars registered in Hamburg alone, according to the German national motor transport authority, the Kraftfahrt Bundesamt. It will also apply to tourists and visitors to the city from other countries and other parts of Germany.

Hamburg is the first city in Germany to enforce a ban, after the country’s highest court ruled them legal in February.