Germany to fight pollution with free public transportation (WaPo)
By Rick Noack February 14 at 6:37 AM
BERLIN — When the discussion turns to the rising costs of living in many global cities, one factor rarely goes unmentioned: public transportation fees. New Yorkers spend only about $116.50 per month on average, compared with as much as $200 in London.
Some Germans, however, might soon have to spend a whooping $0.
The country of parental leave, short workweeks and lederhosen may soon embark on a bold new experiment: making public transport free in some cities. The plans are included in a letter the German government sent to European Union officials and was obtained by a number of news agencies and media outlets. Even though the letter lists specific cities and indicates that the experiment may eventually be expanded nationally, government representatives played down the initiative on Wednesday, saying that it would be up to city officials to decide.
So far, experiments with free public transport have usually been short-lived. When Paris was plagued by thick smog in 2014, authorities responded with an unprecedented idea: banning half of all cars and making public transport free. But the measures lasted only one week. Limited experiments with free public transport were eventually also stopped in Portland and Seattle.
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“We are considering public transport free of charge in order to reduce the number of private cars,” three German government ministers wrote in their recent letter to the E.U., according to AFP. “Effectively fighting air pollution without any further unnecessary delays is of the highest priority for Germany.”
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more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/14/germany-to-fight-pollution-with-free-public-transportation/?utm_term=.f28852de7609
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