Municipalities reject transport ministry’s proposal to allow selective driving bans

Germany’s municipalities have criticised proposals by the transport ministry (BMVI) to allow cities to introduce selective driving bans for certain route sections in inner cities that grapple with high air pollution levels, Welt Online reports. “If some routes are closed, car drivers will find other routes to reach their destination,” a spokesperson of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities (DStGB) told the newspaper. Driving bans for polluting diesel cars that are only valid in certain areas “create a patchwork of rules across the country, which we want to avoid,” the spokesperson said. The BMVI said it works on a new legal framework to protect citizens from harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) stemming from diesel exhaust fumes. Germany’s administrative court has said it will decide on 27 February whether German cities are allowed to impose driving bans on diesel cars themselves.

Read the article in German here.

Read the CLEW factsheet Diesel driving bans in Germany – The Q&A and the CLEW article German top court postpones ruling on diesel driving bans for background.