Milan's Ecopass called a success one month after its introduction
Filed under: Legislation and Policy, European Union
As our readers know, Milan created a pollution tax system (called EcoPass) to stop highly-polluting cars from driving inside a section of the city center. One month after its introduction, la Reppublica has published a very encouraging article (in Italian) that details all the positive things the measure has brought for the Milanese. The article is very thorough, speaking about lots of indicators, but we'll just highlight the most important ones.
First of all, traffic figures are down by 22.7 percent, or by 26.7 percent if you exclude public transport vehicles (buses and taxis). This had the side benefit of increasing the average speed of the vehicles that do remain by 11.3 percent. The figures for the subway train lines (Metropolitana) went also up, with more people (9.1 percent more) using it to access the city center.
The highest reduction in car usage came from the most polluting cars (those under the Euro I, II and III norms), which have to face higher prices to access the zone: the number of these cars dropped by 40 percent.
Maybe the most remarkable figure is the measurement of the quantity of certain pollutants. Pm10 (particulates under 10 micrograms) were down by 26 percent, NOx was down by 21 percent and ammonia by 40 percent.
Lastly, the Comune (city hall) also got 2.5 million EUR of additional income.
Cities such as London, Toronto, Singapore and Stockholm have similar measures. Other places, such as Berlin, Cologne and Hannover, have decided to completely ban the most polluting cars.
[Source: La Repubblica (h/t to Karl-Uwe for the tip) - Link is in Italian]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-13-2008 @ 8:49AM
rgseidl said...
The original article also says the citizens of Milan are still on a "war footing" with the council over this. Perhaps in time they will come to appreciate the reduced congestion and improved air quality, but for now, there is still a lot of resentment - especially among those who can ill afford to upgrade to a cleaner vehicle.
In spite of likely voter ire, several other Italian cities are now looking into emulating the Milanese model: Rome, Florence and Turin. Given the EU directive forcing councils to act against excessive PM10, long honored only in the breach, they have little choice.
Over in the Netherlands, Amsterdam's city council is proposing to flat out ban all gasoline cars initially registered before 1992 (the year three-way catalysts were introduced throughout Europe) plus all diesel vehicles that cannot be retrofitted with a DPF (mostly pre-1997) from the city center. Affected residents will be offered some financial compensation if they decided to scrap their disqualified vehicle.
In addition, parking fees are to be raised to EUR 5 per hour, which is supposed to raise EUR 31 million a year for the city. The implied expectation is that traffic volume will only fall by 1-2% in spite of the price hike. Unsurprisingly, many citizens are livid.
http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article503760.ece/Amsterdam_Centrum_wil_af_van_oude_bakken
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2-13-2008 @ 5:47PM
Karl-Uwe Strunzen said...
If you select the Database at
http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk
and then select the VW Touareg 5.0 TDI DPF
and compare it with a Citroen C1 1.4 HDi without DPF you get of course lower particulates, but also:
Touareg (g/km):
CO2 333, CO 0.424, NOx 0.336, HC+NOx 0.393
C1 (g/km):
CO2 109, CO 0.180, NOx 0.240, HC+NOx 0.280
http://www.nsc.org/ehc/mobile/mse_fs.htm
" * Hydrocarbons react with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight and elevated temperatures to form ground-level ozone. It can cause eye irritation, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath and can lead to permanent lung damage.
* Nitrogen oxides (NOx) also contribute to the formation of ozone and contribute to the formation of acid rain and to water quality problems.
* Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, deadly gas. It reduces the flow of oxygen in the bloodstream and can impair mental functions and visual perception. In urban areas, motor vehicles are responsible for as much as 90 percent of carbon monoxide in the air. "
This NSC info I think is over-simplified. Studies in Europe have linked car emissions to a whole host of other health problem.
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2-13-2008 @ 5:48PM
Karl-Uwe Strunzen said...
I think the city of Genoa is also interested in the system adopted by Milan.
I believe the Germans have decided to ban cars without a DPF and not the most polluting cars. It seems it's quite OK to enter Berlin, Cologne or Hannover with a VW Touareg TDI 5.0 DPF or Cayenne 4.8 Turbo if it has a DPF. At the same time some of these new Euro5 A or B segment cars are not allowed if they don't have a DPF. There is a reason why the Germans have adopted a system which is different from everyone else, and this is clearly not to stop the most polluting cars. If you pollute (both in terms of particle emissions and in terms of CO2) 5 or more times than say a Citroen C1 or Toyota Aygo, adding a DPF is indeed a good idea, but the effect isn't as good as putting it on a car which had low emissions in the first place. DPFs have efficiencies which are never 100%. Furthermore CO2 is also one of the emissions which has to be reduced (besides the particles).
Another example is the heavy taxes imposed in France and Spain as of 1 January 2008. German car sales collapsed last month in these two countries (Audi and Mercedes in particular fell by between 21% and 41%) and it would be a disaster for the German car industry if similar measures, which are designed to penalize the most polluting cars, were also adopted in Germany. Eventually I suspect filters will be on all cars and I'd like to see then if the Touaregs etc still have their sacred cow status.
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2-14-2008 @ 12:54AM
texmln said...
Make sure you follow up later on when businesses have moved out of these cities, the economies have tanked, tax receipts are down, and the governments wonder how they might stimulate economic activity. People won't put up with this crap forever.
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2-14-2008 @ 2:58AM
Karl-Uwe Strunzen said...
These measures make sense even from a purely economical point of view as well. The time it takes to get to work in a highly congested city has an impact on company turnovers as well in these cities. This is a direct effect. An indirect effect is higher stress levels in these cities. Another is a higher percentage of medical problems, which has an effect on sick leave absences as well as worker performance at work.
It's been known for millenia that a healthy lifestyle goes hand in hand with optimal performance at work or in life in general, and this isn't about to change today.
Mens sana in corpore sano
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2-14-2008 @ 12:33PM
Jim said...
Are you sure that Toronto has implemented such a system? I'm not aware of it, but if they have could you point me to where the details are listed.
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2-14-2008 @ 5:53PM
Karl-Uwe Strunzen said...
I don't see how improvements from a transportation as well as health point of view will bring economic drawbacks.
In London, Stockholm and Milan it is well documented that the number of cars has been decreasing as a result of these measures..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge
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2-15-2008 @ 6:25PM
Das Boese said...
This system is catching on very quickly throughout Europe, but IMO most cities do it for the money.
The problem is, if they don't invest that additional income into things like public transport and better infrastructure (which I bet you they won't), it's not going to get them very far. In the short term, the businesses in the restricted areas will experience economic drawbacks, but after a few more years when most cars fulfill those requirements (and the number of cars is ever increasing), you'll be back to today's traffic problems.
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2-15-2008 @ 6:44PM
Xavier Navarro said...
To Das Boese:
We can think they do it for the money, but local governments are elected locally, so people tend to be more sensible. From my experience, I've seen how the introduction of new parking fees has made a city like Barcelona to have the public bike rental service (bicing).
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5-22-2008 @ 5:38PM
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