They only plan to ban enough polluting vehicles to "cut nitrogen dioxide levels by 23% in 2020", so this is a very far cry from EV only. I think this is a step in the right direction, but it seems like a convoluted one that could be a whole lot more ambitious.
They installed a new sound on public buses, which sounds like a nice old bell and is less noisy than the usual car horn. It should exist on all cars.
Seriously, no one gives a f* than someone is stuck in traffic, and yet it alerts everyone on a 200 meters radius, which is many people in a city's density.
Still can't wrap my head around that.
1990s 50cc japanese scooters are indestructible, esp. Hondas, as are later, early-2000s Yamaha/MBK 100cc models. They are not going anywhere until there appears a 80 kg, 12" wheel electric model that can go 100km on a single charge and carry two people at a cruise speed of 70-80 km/h. And charge from zero in at most 15 minutes.
I love the smell of burning 2T oil in the morning.
I believe the expensive version on the electric vespa can do 100km
Check NIU, they are getting close.
Of course it is objectively a good thing, especially when they implement the export restrictions so they won't all simply be offloaded to Africa.
Why export restrictions (especially to Africa) is a good thing? I think that it is quite opposite:
* from looking at basic car sales statistics EV are basically non-existent in Africa, there is no infrastructure etc. (apart from fact that almost nobody could afford them)
* 2000-ish cars are usually quite simple to repair, no advanced electronic etc.
* producing new car probably will waste more resources and emit more pollution than using and repairing old one
If this experiment works, then new, more aggressive ones will be put in place elsewhere.
So, anything that is not hybrid/EV is actually effectively banned.
Are you saying that it's OK for (certain) polluting vehicles to enter the zone to visit someone and park in a garage, but it's not OK for them to pass straight through the zone and out at the other end? That would be possible, but it sounds even more convoluted.
https://elpais.com/sociedad/2018/11/23/actualidad/1542985455...
> Sí, se puede llegar al centro de la capital en vehículo privado. Los residentes tienen permiso para entrar y aparcar en su barrio. Los coches de los no residentes, siempre y cuando cuente con etiqueta ambiental, pueden entrar a Madrid Central. La clave es dónde aparca el vehículo: la medida prohíbe aparcar en superficie excepto a residentes o coches Eco o 0 emisiones. Los vehículos B y C podrán aparcar en cualquier parking de acceso público.
Here's another article that makes it a little clearer - http://www.telemadrid.es/madrid-central/Madrid-Central-pregu...
No vivo en el centro. ¿Puedo circular?
Depende de varias circunstancias y del etiquetado de tu vehículo:
* Sí, aunque no seas residente, siempre que tu vehículo sea 0 emisiones o ECO.
* Si tu vehículo tiene la categoría C o B, sólo puedes acceder para estacionar en aparcamientos de rotación.
* Si tienes movilidad reducida, también puedes acceder, independientemente de la etiqueta.
That seems intuitive for a big capital city... but would it be the same for all neighborhoods?
And guess what, one of the punishments for them regarding diesel (selling cars at discount to affected consumers), turned out to become yet another profit, because in the end they just sell more cars anyway.
Mercedes has ads across the country how they are just a nice company and want to help the planet by giving the opportunity to Euro 4/5 car owners to exchange their cars at affordable prices, while avoiding to mention why they are actually offering it.
There VW was forced to pay for a huge EV charging infrastructure in addition to the vehicle buyback. In Canada, the gov't did basically nothing and it was only a class action lawsuit that accomplished much, and the deal we got was far less than what they got in the U.S.
Still, the money I got from dieselgate buyback paid for most of my Chevy Volt. So that's something.
You mean, they didn’t like the “politics” of a company installing devices in their cars whose only purpose was to cheat emissions tests, and then afterward lying about it?
Yes, it’s not really so much about the “environment” per se, and more about the criminal cheating followed by criminal coverup.
I think that for once, the US regulations are stricter than the EU ones. Diesel emissions standards are higher in the US than Europe.
Yeah, the governments are either not thinking about the long-term survival of the population and the planet, or they would rather just placate their citizenry by making sure they have jobs. Because a jobless populace will vote you out of the office, so, fuck the environment?
Pushing non-EV vehicles out of cities isn't the only viable measure, but it is by far the easiest and quickest and has very positive side effects for quality of life in the city. And with VW getting more serious about EVs the lobbying may well reverse direction in a few years. After all once you sell an attractive EV lineup, getting every city dweller to replace their petrol car with an EV is great for your bottom line.
Actually, I'd say the ban on those cities I mention is in some ways more restrictive than what was just implemented in Madrid. It's much simpler to accomplish due to their size, though.
Still, I would like to share your optimism. Let's rid our cities of cars completely.
I'm surprised (and pleased) that this initiative is being implemented in Spain, since the infrastructure for supporting EVs there is less developed than other places (say, Germany). I sincerely wish it turns out to be a success, which would quickly accelerate similar initiatives in other places.