EcoPass giovedì 24 gennaio 2008
Posted by andy in Miglioramento.Tags: EcoPass, inquinamento, Miglioramento, suggerimento
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Ecco ciò che penso dell’EcoPass introdotto con il primo Gennaio 2008 a Milano.
Approccio
Seppur l’intenzione sia buona, la soluzione adottata è, secondo me, all’italiana.
Obiettivi
Quai dovrebbero essere gli obiettivi di una municipalità per sostenere un’azione come quella dell’EcoPass?Uno solo: la riduzione dell’inquinamento.E come fare? vi sono molti fattori su cui si può agire:
- la sostituzione dei veicoli inquinanti con altri meno inquinanti
- la disincentivazione dell’accesso alla città mediante veicoli privati
- il potenziamento del trasporto pubblico
- l’utilizzo di tecnologie non inquinanti
- la riduzione delle cause che aumentano la congestione del traffico
Azioni
Un elenco, non esaustivo, di azioni che si possono intraprendere per migliorare la circolazione e ridurre l’inquinamento nelle città è, secondo me, il seguente:
- eliminazione delle cause di ingorgo (multe certe ed immediate a coloro che parcheggiano in doppia fila, a coloro che impegnano gli incroci sapendo di non poterli disimpegnare prima che venga il rosso, etc.)
- piano regolatore:
- tutti i nuovi edifici devono cedere almeno 5 metri ai marciapiedi
- non costruire box ma parcheggi aperti (senza saracinesca): il box riduce l’ occupazione del suolo pubblico di notte, quando le persone sono a casa propria, ma non di giorno, quando le persone escono ed il box viene chiuso, e rimane vuoto e non utilizzabile da coloro che per lavoro vengono in quella parte di città.
- ridurre il tempo di apertura dei cantieri, che intralciano inutilmente il traffico (la causa è in generale da imputarsi ai ritardi nei pagamenti da parte della P.A. ed alla mancanza di controlli e sanzioni sempre da parte della P.A. per i ritardi non giustificati)
- potenziare il sistema di trasporto pubblico (su questo non ci piove: già oggi prendere il metrò in ora di punta è quasi impossibile, oltre al fatto di essere costretti a viaggiare come sui carri bestiame)
- aumentare il numero di taxi in circolazione e contemporaneamente ridurre le tariffe, in modo che la gente sia motivata a lasciare a casa l’auto (questo scontenterà i taxisti, ma l’interesse della comunità è superiore a quello della loro lobby)
- destinare tutti (e dico tutti) i proventi derivanti da EcoPass e tasse sui carburanti ad investimenti sulla sostituzione degli attuali combustibili con altri rinnovabili, documentando per trasparenza quanto e come viene raccolto e reinvestito
Svantaggi dell’Ecopass
- Vengono penalizzate le categorie meno abbienti, che non hanno disponibilità per sostituire i propri mezzi
- non si riduce il traffico: la gente continua ad aver bisogno del mezzo, e quindi pagherà
- non si riduce il traffico: tutto sommato, le auto che devono pagare sono ormai poche
- non si disincentivano i consumi: posso entrare senza EcoPass con un auto Euro3 con un 5000 di cilindrata, ma devo pagare con un’utilitaria Euro2
Misurazione
Per quanto concerne la misurazione del miglioramento introdotto, nessuno ha preventivamente dichiarato (almeno al telegiornale) quanti veicoli entravano giornalmente entro la cerchia dei bastioni, mentre dopo la prima giornata di effettività dell’EcoPass si sono prodigati nel dichiarare una riduzione del traffico del 20%.Peccato che queste rilevazioni avrebbero dovuto essere effettuate su un periodo più lungo, non comprendente quello iniziale, in cui tutti sono risultati spaesati dalla nuova normativa e dalle relative sanzioni.
E dall’altra parte dell’acqua..(over the pond..)
Green light for London’s CO2 Congestion Charge
The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, confirmed that a new CO2-based London Congestion Charge would be introduced later this year. From 27th October 2008, cars with the highest CO2 emissions will pay £25, and those with the lowest emissions will receive a 100% discount – effectively making them exempt from the Charge. The new scheme is a key part of the Mayor’s Climate Change Action Plan, which aims to reduce London’s CO2 emissions by 60% by 2025.
Under the new charging regime, cars with CO2 emissions greater than 225 g/km (equivalent to the new Vehicle Excise Duty band G), as well as those registered pre March 2001 with engines larger than 3,000 cc, will face a London Congestion Charge of £25 per day. These vehicles include many high-powered sports cars and expensive luxury vehicles, and some of the so-called ‘Chelsea tractors’. Cars with CO2 emissions up to 120 g/km (VED bands A and B), which are also Euro IV vehicles, will receive a 100% congestion charge discount. The majority of cars, VED bands C, D, E and those in F with emissions up to 225 g/km, as well as those registered pre 2001 with engines up to and including 3,000 cc, will continue to pay exactly the same daily charge as at present (£8).
On average, London cars currently emit around 180 gCO2/km and most will continue to pay the existing £8 daily charge. Of those cars currently driven in the Congestion Charge zone, 17% are band G and would be liable for the £25 charge, and just 2% are bands A and B which would qualify for the 100% discount. Whereas under the current scheme, the only vehicles to receive the full Alternative Fuels Discount are electric, hybrid and some LPG cars, the new proposals will also allow small conventional petrol and diesel cars into the zone free of charge. According to the Vehicle Certification Agency, there are around 70 small petrol and diesel models that will qualify for the full discount under the new scheme – these include the VW Polo BlueMotion 99g/km CO2 and the Seat Ibiza 1.4 TDI 80PS Ecomotion 99g/km.
Under the new scheme, vehicles already registered for the Alternative Fuel Discount would continue to receive the discount until January 2010, unless the vehicle changed ownership. The current discounts and exemptions for Blue Badge holders and Taxis & Licensed Private Hire Vehicles would be unaffected by these proposals. Under the Congestion Charging NHS reimbursement scheme, eligible claimants are reimbursed the £8 daily charge. This scheme would continue for the £8 standard daily charge; however those drivers of band G vehicles would only be eligible for £8 reimbursement rather than £25.
Some critics, including Angie Bray, the congestion charge spokeswoman for the London Assembly Conservatives, suggest that, in allowing exemptions for so many small cars, the proposed changes may in fact further escalate London’s traffic. Another concern is that, as many band A and B cars are diesel, emissions of nitrogen oxide and particulates may increase, even though diesels emit less CO2 than their petrol fuelled equivalents. For these reasons, the Mayor has made clear that the new scheme is flexible and that both the charges and exemptions may be varied in the future to ensure that the twin goals of tackling traffic congestion and combating climate change are both achieved. If negative impacts occur, the likelihood is that a £4 per day Charge would be introduced for cars in band B (101-120 gCO2/km).
According to Livingstone: “Nobody needs to damage the environment by driving a gas guzzling Chelsea Tractor in central London. The CO2 emissions from the most high powered 4x4s and sports cars can be up to four times as great of those of the least polluting cars. The CO2 charge will encourage people to switch to cleaner vehicles or public transport and ensure that those who choose to carry on driving the most polluting vehicles help pay for the environmental damage they cause. This is the “polluter pays” principle. At the same time, the 100% discount we are introducing for the lowest CO2 emitting vehicles will give drivers in London an incentive to use the least polluting cars available…We will be closely monitoring this scheme to ensure that goal of reducing traffic congestion in central London remains a central priority.”
Source: Mayor of London Image: Transport for London
WhatGreenCar? comment
As we stated back in October 2007, while WhatGreenCar? broadly agrees with emissions-based charging, giving band B cars the full discount is likely to have some negative impacts. By not differentiating between band B and band A vehicles – which include both the lowest carbon petrol and diesel vehicles and the zero-emission vehicles such as the battery electric G-Wiz – there is little incentive for motorists to switch to the cars with the lowest CO2 emissions (band A).
Furthermore, according to a report seen by WhatGreenCar?, the market assessment of the proposed change may significantly underestimate the switch to band B petrol and diesel cars. While the AEAT analysis assumes an additional 5% increase in band A and B cars by 2009, figures from the Netherlands where an equivalently sized incentive was tried in 2001/02 revealed a 100% increase in low carbon cars in one year! While this is great news for supporting the shift to low carbon cars, WhatGreenCar? cautions against the over-stimulation of the low carbon car market – the danger under the new scheme is that if demand for band B cars in the capital is too high, supply may not be able to match demand, and mileages may increase so worsening congestion and increasing CO2 emissions.