For a long time, the fight for clean air in Munich was as tough as it was at the end of the day on the Mittlerer Ring. But now the coalition of Greens and SPD is taking drastic measures: Driving bans for older diesels. It should go in quick succession, in February it will hit the vehicles with the Euro standard four, in October 2023 almost certainly also those with emission class five. More than 100,000 vehicles from Munich alone will then no longer be allowed to drive over the Ring into the city center and in future not on the Ring itself either. The decision by the city council should be a matter of form.
The coalition will please residents of Landshuter Allee or Tegernseer Landstraße, but also put off many drivers. But the city is not very suitable as an object of anger, the Bavarian state government should be the first addressee. As the authority responsible for air pollution control in Munich, this watched for years as Munich residents had to inhale an unacceptable amount of toxic nitrogen dioxide. It ignored the courts and thus not only disregarded many people’s right to health, but also committed an open breach of the law, a catastrophe for the role model effect of the state. Instead of acting consistently, the Free State simply transferred responsibility to Munich in 2021 and is now fine.
The city has always criticized this slacker mentality, so it is now logical that it quickly creates facts. However, the diesel bans sound a bit more massive than they will have an impact on everyday life. The coalition has generously built in rules for exceptions, and there are hardly any controls. The symbolic power is high, the consequences will not be quite as drastic as it sounds. That is appropriate. It is also a fact that the air in Munich, even at the hotspots, has not been as clean as it was in 2022 for a long time thanks to cleaner engines.
In this respect, the coalition has also cleverly sold it: it is proving its capacity to act, is not hurting the voters too much and is ensuring that fewer people from the surrounding area drive into the city center by car. This in turn may give a boost to the traffic turnaround, which, apart from the construction of a few cycle paths, has not progressed much faster than the struggle for clean air.