It was a shock for Leipzig taxi drivers and a harbinger of things to come for the taxi industry: in mid-October, the city of Leipzig announced the goal of converting the city's taxi fleet completely to electric or at least hybrid by 2025. The quick fix backfired, but it shows what we can expect in the near future.
Berlin's air has been sung about, but that was a long time ago. And back then it was far from dirty. But there is reason for hope. As has now been measured, it has never been so clean since measurements began in 1975. New limits, however, could prove to be a challenge.
Dirty company cars are being subsidised too much, complain the Öko-Institut in Freiburg and the think tank Agora Verkehrswende. According to the institutes' calculations, the subsidies paid by German taxpayers for privately used company cars amount to up to six billion euros annually. Since it is mainly fuel-guzzlers with high engine power that are purchased by companies for their employees, this unnecessarily complicates the transport transition.
The German Federal Taxi and Hire Car Association (BVTM) has presented a plan to electrify 80 percent of the taxi fleet by 2030. The paper, called Federal Roadmap eTaxi, focuses on promoting, demanding and networking.
The Association of European Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM) wants to work on significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions. At the same time, jobs are to be secured, the environment protected and economic growth promoted. As the development of electric motorbikes is still in its infancy, the manufacturers also hope to further develop and use e-fuel.
The transport industry has realised: With its heavy freighters, it is part of the problem of air pollution both in cities and on the busy routes between cities and distribution centres. Mercedes-Benz has now started to produce its first e-truck in series. And thus has a decisive advantage in Europe's low-emission zones.
One of the biggest challenges facing the electrification of transport is the charging infrastructure. Even if more and more drivers opt for an electric model, it will fail in everyday life due to the lack of sockets on the road. One solution is sockets integrated into street lamps. In Berlin, they already wanted to test this by equipping some street lamps with plugs. In London and Arnhem, they are already further along.
Anyone who has an electric car in Norway pays hardly any tax on it. This applied to 78 percent of new purchases made so far in 2021 and to 55 percent of purchases in the previous year. Norway thus leads the electric quota in Europe. The citizens of Norway will also have to hurry, because from 2025 onwards, no more passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with internal combustion engines will be allowed to drive in the country.
In the Netherlands, there are 15 low emission zones in 12 cities. The three largest cities Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam even have two zones. Most zones only prohibit the entry of diesel trucks with Euronorm 3 and below. But there are exceptions and special rules.
Everyone should drive electric cars. But when it comes to mastering everyday life, electric cars still often reach their limits. This is largely due to the infrastructure, which is still in its infancy in many places. Parking garages with charging functions promise a solution. But what happens if a car catches fire there?
