The Admnistrative Court has signed off onto the method of which Frankfurt-City will deal with diesel cars in the future (as told by HR, my local public TV network):
- On 1 Feb 2019....if you are operating an older model Diesel car (category 4, a standard that lasted in production from 2005 to fall of 2009)....then you are forbidden from entry into a 'zone' of Frankfurt. Oddly, no one yet has defined that 'zone'. It might be just a four-block area....it might be the whole city.
- Some people suggest that the Autobahn of the city (A5, A3, and A661 in the north) might make up this 'zone' but that's not clear.
- How many cars affected? Almost unknown. The city will say that roughly 40-percent of the cars with 'F' plates (meaning you reside there) are diesel cars. But that doesn't include those who live beyond the city limits and drive in each day. No one is that sure about the category '4', '5', or '6' diesel numbers. You could be talking about 10,000 cars of the forbidden type from entering the city....maybe even 20,000.
- The court then left in the idea that maybe people with trades....who must travel into the city....might get a waiver. But that part isn't clear either.
- The idea of pulling people over and checking their paperwork or such? The political folks are hinting that they really DON'T want to get into that type of mentality.
- The pressure on RMV (our regional tram/train provider)? They are going to step up and add a couple of buses, trams, and large parking lots. But if you read through everything....it's simply throwing some idea at the problem in hopes that it's not that massive.
I would suggest....come Feb of 2019....a major mess will arrive and people just keep driving.
Blame here? You can go to the EU, and the Berlin leadership....neither can compensate the owners of the diesel cars, and the news media just gives them a pass to continue on. If someone had said....fine, what's the blue-book value of your diesel vehicle, and we will offer precisely that amount for you to buy a gas car, then this hassle would disappear in just 90 days. No one wants to award any compensation.....they just want anger and frustration to come out of this.
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