Blog & News

Tag: Negotiations

Tolls and "Pickerl" in Germany - will drivers be asked to pay even more after all?

The idea of a car toll in Germany is back on the table - despite the failure of earlier plans and the resulting high compensation claims. Economic experts are urging the German government to introduce a route-based toll in order to modernize the ailing transport infrastructure. But how realistic is this plan after the debacle surrounding former Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer's earlier toll plans?


Low emission zone in Krakow stopped for the time being!

On 11 January 2024, the District Administrative Court in Krakow, Poland, stopped the city's planned low emission zone for the time being. The project, known as the Clean Transport Zone (SCT), was intended to designate a part of the city where only cars with certain Euro standards would be allowed to enter. However, despite the good intentions of the city council, the court declared the project invalid.


Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH and lobbying): Where do the 1.5 million euros in donations come from?

Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), a non-profit organisation for environmental protection, also known for environmental zones and diesel driving bans, is being criticised: it refuses to disclose 15 large donations with a total value of over one million euros. The media company Table.Media discovered this in the lobby register of the German Bundestag. But what does this mean for DUH's credibility? What is the actual aim of its work?


Expensive agricultural diesel and vehicle tax: farmers paralyse Germany on 8 January

Farmers in Germany are taking to the barricades because of the loss of subsidies for agricultural diesel and the new motor vehicle tax for agricultural vehicles. Today, Monday, they want to paralyse Germany. Switching to local transport will probably not be a good idea either, as the GDL labour union is also planning to strike.


No lawsuit against Scheuer: despite 243 million euros in damages due to car toll

It's a bitter setback for taxpayers: no legal action against former Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer over the failed car toll. A prestige project of the CSU, which was stopped by the European Court of Justice in 2019 and cost the federal government a lot of money. The Federal Ministry of Transport has now announced that it will not take legal action against Scheuer.


Neither 30 km/h nor more safety for pedestrians and cyclists: Federal Council stops new traffic law

It's official, Germany is on the road to a traffic law disaster! The Bundesrat has blocked a reform of road traffic law, which had envisaged more 30 km/h zones, play streets and bus and cycle lanes, head-on. The state governments have thus cancelled Transport Minister Wissing's proposal and brought us one step closer to the abyss.


Discrimination against SUV drivers: Paris triples parking fees for heavy cars

It's hard to believe: The city of Paris is planning to triple the parking fees for heavy cars. A targeted attack on SUV drivers, who in future will have to pay 18 euros per hour when they park their vehicle in the French capital. Once again, it is the drivers who are being asked to pay - and this time it is the owners of large cars who are being hit particularly hard.