The city of Munich must tighten the driving ban for diesel vehicles. In the future, cars with emissions class Euro 5 will also be affected. It is still unclear when the ban will come. On Thursday, the Bavarian Administrative Court (VGH) ruled that the city must take measures as quickly as possible to significantly reduce air pollution from nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) on Landshuter Allee and Moosacher Straße. The annual average limit of 40 micrograms of NO₂ per cubic meter of air was exceeded at both measuring points in 2023.
The court did not issue any specific instructions for the driving ban, but it made it clear that there would probably be no way around a zonal driving ban. The city does have a certain amount of leeway when it comes to air pollution control measures. However, the Senate does not think much of a route-specific driving ban, among other things because it could increase alternative traffic in residential areas – and because the zonal driving ban could be implemented more quickly since it is already included in the air pollution control plan.
According to the VGH, a ban on route driving in combination with the existing zonal ban on Euro 4 vehicles on the Middle Ring and the environmental zone within the ring would in principle lead to compliance with the limit value. To do this, however, the air pollution control plan must be redrafted and public participation is required.
The measure could therefore only be introduced later. “A combination of zonal and route-related driving bans would also result in complex and possibly impractical traffic regulations, which in turn could impair the effectiveness of the measure,” said the VGH. The German Environmental Aid (DUH) and the Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD) had sued, who completely disagreed with the city council’s decision of July 2023 not to tighten the diesel driving ban.
As a reminder: The diesel driving ban was the result of a settlement in a years-long legal dispute between DUH, VCD and the city. In October 2022, the parties agreed on a three-stage driving ban for diesel vehicles. Since February 2023, the driving ban in the low emission zone, which has since included the Mittlerer Ring, has been in effect for diesel engines with emissions class Euro 4.
In October 2023 it would also have applied to Diesel 5 vehicles, but the city council suspended this until May 2024 due to a positive forecast for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) pollution. The third stage, which would have provided for the abolition of all blanket exceptions for craftsmen or residents from April 2024, was completely rejected.
But the forecast was too optimistic: the annual average limit of 40 micrograms of NO₂ per cubic meter of air was still significantly exceeded on Landshuter Allee, as well as at the municipal measuring point on Moosacher Straße, which was only created in 2023. It became apparent in August last year that the measured value would not be met again. DUH and VCD saw the city council’s decision as a breach of contract and filed a new lawsuit last October to enforce further air pollution control measures.
Finally, last Thursday the hearing took place before the Administrative Court. However, the court postponed a decision for a week because it wanted to review a report on air pollution control, only excerpts of which were available for the hearing. This report will also be presented to the city council as a draft resolution at the end of April. This includes, among other things, various scenarios of how exhaust emissions could be reduced.
VCD and DUH said they were satisfied with the verdict. He just hopes, said DUH managing director Jürgen Resch, that it will be implemented really quickly. The city council could decide on a driving ban at its general meeting on April 24th. What the city is doing on Moosacher Strasse is unclear. The court did not impose a mandatory ban on diesel driving for these.
Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) said after the verdict that protecting people’s health was of course the top priority. “Since the limit values are only exceeded at two measuring points, I do not consider it proportionate to exclude all Diesel 5 vehicles from the entire low emission zone.” A route-specific ban that only applies to the affected section of road will also lead to an improvement in air quality and compliance with the limit values, says Reiter.
SPD parliamentary group leader Anne Hübner joins the mayor. She said they wanted to spare people harsher driving bans. “Unfortunately, the verdict now forces us to take further measures.” Care will be taken to ensure that these are limited to what is “absolutely necessary”. They don’t want to shake the existing exception concept.
The Greens, on the other hand, stand with the VGH and are in favor of the rapid introduction of the zonal driving ban. City councilor Florian Roth, who followed the proceedings in the courtroom, explained that the verdict was “a clear rejection of all those who, like the CSU, have fought tooth and nail against driving bans at state and city level and even the existing level 1 diesel driving ban wanted to abolish it – disregarding the health protection of those living on Landshuter Allee, for example, the dirtiest street in Germany.”
The VGH has expressly ruled out an appeal. Nevertheless, the CSU is calling on the city administration to check whether it can appeal against the verdict. “If this is not possible, the impact on Munich diesel drivers must be as minimal as possible,” said parliamentary group leader Manuel Pretzl. The court did not order a zonal driving ban, but rather expressly confirmed that the city council had discretion in updating the air pollution control plan. “The previous exceptions must definitely continue to apply,” said Pretzl.