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Germany Considers Free Public Transport in Fight To Banish Air Pollution (theguardian.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tough-choices dept.

"Car nation" Germany has surprised neighbours with a radical proposal to reduce road traffic by making public transport free, as Berlin scrambles to meet EU air pollution targets and avoid big fines. From a report: The move comes just over two years after Volkswagen's devastating "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal unleashed a wave of anger at the auto industry, a keystone of German prosperity. "We are considering public transport free of charge in order to reduce the number of private cars," three ministers including Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks wrote to EU Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella in the letter seen by AFP Tuesday.

6 of 321 comments (clear)

  1. I'm not in Germany but... by Arab · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The only reason I drive rather than commute by train is that it's a lot cheaper for two people to drive than it is to get the train.

    1. Re:I'm not in Germany but... by Stephan+Schulz · · Score: 5, Informative

      That's the ONLY reason? I'm also dissuaded by the fact that my car starts and stops closer to where I want to be.

      In European cities, the distance from the next available parking spot often will be further than the distance from the next public transport stop.

      --

      Stephan

    2. Re:I'm not in Germany but... by Stephan+Schulz · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Apart from this, even if parking is sparse, it will usually be much faster to drive. It depends on the city, but most people value less time spent commuting over all else.

      The first claim is far from true for many European cities. When I moved to Munich (1995), I sold my car after it stood useless and rusting for 18 months. Going by subway, it took me about 10 minutes to get to work (and the subway ran every 10 minutes). Going by bicycle was 20 minutes. Going by car was unpredictable, but never less than 20 minutes, even with private parking at home (so no searching). Now I live in Stuttgart, and while going by car might be nominally a bit faster with no traffic, we cannot have any meetings at 9 in the morning, because during rush hour, my colleagues travel time goes up by an hour or so. The public transport system in most of the US is (intentionally or not) crippled. Try Singapore, Hong Kong, Munich or even Paris to see what it can be like.

      --

      Stephan

  2. Makes sense to me. by RyanFenton · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Here's the thing: It costs billions and billions, and billions to make and maintain those roads. That's considered a worthy service built by shared effort of the society. The additional cost of running buses across those roads is much less, basically a small percentage of cost to increase the the capacity and utility of those roads more.

    It makes the overall society more efficient, since those tax dollars are saving millions of individuals much more money over time, usually folks who actually spend money in the economy instead of the savings/investment classes that tend to shelter their activities from the economy at large.

    Ad described, at least, makes sense to me - and would be nice to use if I ever visit there.

    Ryan Fenton

  3. Never forget ... by Viol8 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Roads receive "investment", public transport (including rail) receives "subsidy". As if a layer of tarmac is somehow going to earn money on its own if only enough were spent on it.

    Politicians love to play these verbal sleights of hand to fool the stupid and unfortunately it works a lot of the time.

  4. Roads are also subsidized by Hasaf · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You are forgetting that roads are also heavily subsidized. So, each time you drive to work you are taking money from a neighbor who cycles, or walks, to work. https://frontiergroup.org/repo...

    "Aside from gas taxes and individuals’ expenditures for their own driving, U.S. households bear on average an additional burden of more than $1,100 per year in taxes and other costs imposed by driving. Including:
    An estimated $597 per U.S. household per year in general tax revenue dedicated to road construction and repair.
    Between $199 and $675 per household per year in additional tax subsidies for driving, such as the sales tax exemption for gasoline purchases in many states and the federal income tax exclusion for commuter parking benefits.
    An estimated $216 per year in government expenditures made necessary by vehicle crashes, not counting additional, uncompensated damages to victims and property.
    Approximately $93 to $360 per household in costs related to air pollution-induced health damage."

    This is only a small snip from the article that I provided the link to.