Germany considers free transport to reduce vehicle emissions
Germany is mulling plans to make public transport free of charge as the government considers radical action to comply with EU pollution targets and avoid heavy fines.
While the move may shift some German drivers from the roads onto metro systems, trains and buses, the entrenchment of private transport use in many parts of Germany – and the share of road freight in fuel demand – may mean there is minimal impact on diesel and biodiesel demand, at least in the short term.
And in some heavily-populated parts of Germany, such as the Rhineland and the Ruhr, increasingly congested and unreliable public transport has persuaded some commuters to drive instead.
Free transport would put more pressure on these networks, and federal government, local authorities and the private sector – including carmakers – would have to agree on how ticketless travel would be paid for.
According to an AFP report this week three German transport ministers said in a letter to the European Commission: “We are considering public transport free of charge in order to reduce the number of private cars.”
The ministers said the plan will be put into place by “the end of this year at the latest” in five cities, including Bonn, the former capital that is now home to the UN’s climate change agency, and industrial centres Essen and Mannheim.
The letter added: “Effectively fighting air pollution without any further unnecessary delays is of the highest priority for Germany”.
The German government is also considering more low emissions zones, car pooling, and curbs on highly-polluting vehicle fleets such as buses and taxis.
Besides the threat of stiff penalties, German courts could soon rule that cities can ban diesel cars that fail to comply with the EU’s most recent air quality standards (based on ‘real world’ driving and testing).
On 22 February a federal court will rule whether Stuttgart's city government will have to take action on polluting vehicles following a case lodged by an NGO, a decision that could prompt curbs on diesels in other German cities.
The emissions testing scandal, by which automakers manipulated data to hide most of their vehicles nitrogen oxide emissions, and rising pollution in German cities, have prompted a huge backlash against carmakers in Germany and across the EU.
Sales of new diesel vehicles fell 17% in Germany last year, but experts say it will take several years for falling diesel sales to translate into major falls in diesel demand, and by extension for biodiesel.
For instance, German government data released earlier this month showed that consumption of biodiesel rose 2% in the January-November period as refiners responded to an increased blending mandate (4%) for the period 2017-2019.
A switch from diesel to petrol cars, rather than hybrid or fully electric vehicles, is viewed as a major challenge to Germany meeting greenhouse gas targets, with the country's 2020 cuts seen as being increasingly out of reach because of the growth in road transport in the EU's largest economy.