Diesel-driving Berliners may be banished to back roads
MORE than 200,000 motorists in Berlin could have their cars banned from major roads in the city, under plans leaked to German television.
Local authorities in the German capital are considering making it the latest in a series of cities to ban older diesel cars as they try to bring air pollution under control.
The proposals, which would result in diesel cars that do not meet EU emission standards being prohibited on the major routes into Berlin, come despite an exchange scheme announced by Angela Merkel’s government this week to prevent driving bans.
Under the scheme, motorists in the 14 most polluted cities in Germany will be offered premiums to trade in their old diesels for cleaner models, in order to avoid diesel bans.
They can also have their old diesels refitted to meet new emissions standards free of charge.
But despite being Germany’s biggest city, Berlin is not among the most polluted and its drivers will not be eligible for the deal.
The proposal to ban diesel vehicles follows a move by the regional government earlier this year to impose 30kmh (18mph) speed limits on key routes through the city in order to cut pollution.
“Whether, and to what extent, driving bans are introduced depends on extensive research, which is not limited to driving bans, but also covers other possible measures to comply with the emission limits,” a spokesman for the regional government said.
If a ban is imposed Berlin will become the latest major German cities to resort to the measure. Hamburg prohibited older diesel cars on two major roads earlier this year, and Frankfurt and Stuttgart are set to impose bans next year.
Environmental Action Germany, a lobby group which has pushed for diesel bans, welcomed the news but called for a more comprehensive ruling.
Jürgen Resch, the group’s director, said: “We want a wider ban which includes the back streets. We don’t support a ban which only applies on individual road sections. This just leads to motorists shifting to residential streets.”