Low Emission Zones & Bans of High Emitters

The Low Emission Zone (LEZ) was introduced on 1 January 2008. The scope of the LEZ covers the inner city (88km2). Since 1 January 2010 only vehicles with Euro 4 or retrofitted Euro 3 vehicles are allowed to enter the LEZ. Thanks to a close monitoring and strict enforcement, the LEZ has led to significant emission reductions. Transport emissions have considerably decreased: in 2010 soot emissions from exhaust pipes decreased by 40% and NOx by 19%. It also resulted in a change in the overall composition of the vehicles fleet in Berlin. In 2009, 88% of the cars driving in Berlin both inside and outside the LEZ had a minimum of Euro 4 standard.

The Environmental Zone (ger.)

http://www.berlin.de/sen/umwelt/luftqualitaet/en/luftreinhalteplan/umweltzone_allgemeines.shtml

Non-Road Mobile Emission Sources

There are no obligatory standards within Berlin yet but it has been agreed to introduce them in 2011 or 2012. The share of particle emissions from NRMM near main roads is rather small (below 5 %). There was a trial programme to retrofit passenger ships with particulate filter systems (3 ships + monitoring: → positive resultsCurrently, construction machines are covered by the German national legislation on emissions for combustion engines. It is therefore difficult for Berlin to decide upon regional or local legislation requiring particulate filters for construction machines in low emission zones. However, the city acknowledges the importance of tight regulations to reduce the PM emissions from construction machines. The city created a voluntary guideline and is seeking cooperation with industry associations to reach a voluntary commitment. Regulations are agreed to be introduced in 2011 or 2012. Regarding rail transport, emission standards and diesel-particulate filters are part of the requirements for public bidding. Regarding ships, there was a trial test programme to retrofit 3 passenger ships with diesel particulate filters. The monitoring of the trial suggested positive results.

Traffic & Mobility Management Incl. Modal Split

With its urban traffic planning strategy StEP Verkehr, Berlin has developed a very comprehensive set of measures aiming at reducing car use in the city. It presents an ambitious strategy to reduce car use but also promote cycling and walking as well as public transport. In Berlin, the general speed limit is 55 km/h on main roads, with 30 km/h on large parts of the secondary streets. Some of the main roads are additionally reduced to 30 km/h maximum speed. 75% of the roads in Berlin are subject to 30 km/h speed limits. That includes also 230kms of main roads, although partly temporary. The share of 30 km/h zones will be continually increased. Among others, the city promotes and speeds up public transport and cycling, if necessary or useful to the disadvantage of cars. It also created measures for mobility management for companies, as well as for commuters, for schools and for elderly people. Car sharing is promoted by dedicated parking spaces, and several measures promote multimodal interconnectivity, for example between local and long-distance mobility choices with a budget of 1 Million euro.

The city has one of the lowest shares of cars per inhabitants in Germany. The modal split experiences a growing share of bikes, pedestrians and public transport in the city, while the share of car driver dropped by 7% in 10 years. Whereas in 1998, the modal share had 39% motorised individual transport, in 2008 it was only 32%. In the same time cycling increased by 3% to 13% and walking increased from 25% to 29%. Public transport had a share of 27% in 2008. The targets of Berlin for 2025 are realistic and aim at reducing the car use to 25% while increasing the share of public transport (to 29%) and cycling (to 18%).

Modal Shift to Walking & Cycling

In that past decade, Berlin has experienced a long trend towards more cycling and walking. The city has improved the infrastructure for bikes in many aspects. For examples are new cycling lanes established on the roads as a rule. Also, many one-way streets can be used by cyclists in both directions. There are cycling routes on secondary roads, labelled by signs. Regarding walking, no comprehensive strategy has been set to increase walking until 2010 and pedestrian zones are very small. The 2011 decision to focus also on walking is noted here, but not yet reflected in the ranking.