Germany, the car nation, has taken seriously the high nitrogen oxide pollution levels in at least 20 major cities. The German government has made a proposal to introduce free public transportation.
This proposal was made in an attempt to lower nitrogen oxide pollution in cities by reducing the road traffic. Also, the country needs to meet the European Union air pollution targets to prevent any legal actions for continuously failing to comply with EU urban air quality regulations and avoid big fines.
The government has decided to test the effectiveness of this proposal by the end of this year in five cities across western Germany. However, how exactly the cost of the free public transportation will be covered remains unclear.
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At least 20 major German cities continue to record nitrogen oxide pollution levels that exceed the EU limits. Several courts in Germany were also independently mulling imposing a driving ban on diesel vehicles in the worst-affected cities. The nitrogen oxide emissions is mainly caused by older diesel-vehicles.
Germany's Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks wrote a letter to EU Environmental Commissioner Karmenu Vella outlining the plan. The letter said a multi-billion euros program co-financed by the state and carmakers was already underway.
However, the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) expressed doubts over the economic viability of free public transportation.