Diesel driving ban in Munich: The bitter pill for better air
The air in Munich is getting better and better as far as nitrogen dioxide is concerned. Nevertheless: The EU limit value for nitrogen dioxide (NoX), which has been in force since 2008, is still exceeded on four streets in the state capital. Landshuter Allee, for example, has the reputation of being the street with the dirtiest air in Germany. From February 1st, a diesel driving ban will apply in Munich, specifically for diesel with emission class Euro 4 /IV. In a further step, Euro 5/V diesel drivers will be affected from October.
Euro 5 will probably also be affected from October
Stephan Eppinger is a freelance musician from Dießen am Ammersee and drives a silver-grey VW Touran. He depends on his car. Instruments, amplifiers, boxes – everything fits into the storage miracle on four wheels without any problems. At least three times a week the man from Diessen has to perform in the city center or above the Mittlerer Ring. Finally, because after three long years of Corona, the musician has work again. But when the family man looks at the registration papers for his car, he gets a stomach ache.
In field 14 of his vehicle papers it says “EURO5” in capital letters and in the line below “Diesel”. Stephan Eppinger is probably not yet affected by the Munich driving ban from February 1st, it will probably bloom from October. His problem: he can’t afford a new car at the moment. He is currently busy paying back Corona aid. Money is more than tight, a new car is not economically viable, possibly, so vehemently Eppinger, he can retrofit his diesel.
Hardly any possibility for diesel retrofit systems
When it comes to retrofit systems for Euro 4 and Euro 5 systems, however, Alexander Kreipl from ADAC Südbayern shakes his head. For Euro 4, according to Kreipl, there are actually none – and for Euro 5 suitable systems are very difficult to find. According to Kreipl, the installation of reduction systems is not financially worthwhile.
According to the car specialist, many concerned diesel drivers have been reporting to the ADAC for days. According to Kreipl, some are from Munich, who were notified in writing by the city of the impending driving ban from February 1st. However, many inquiries also come from the Munich area.
ADAC: Driving bans shift the problem
Munich is one of the largest commuter cities in Germany. Around 500,000 people commute in and out of the state capital every year. For them, the Mittlerer Ring, Munich’s city autobahn, has a bundling function. According to Kreipl, the diesel driving ban will force many commuters to take alternative routes, which will shift the problem either to other districts or to the municipalities and cities in the Munich district.
Christine Kugler does not see this problem. Kugler is head of the city’s climate and environment department and responsible for the Munich diesel driving ban. According to Kugler, it is relatively easy to predict which alternative routes drivers will take, at least for the urban area. Perhaps, Kugler says, there will be more traffic on these routes for two or three months, but she is sure that the situation will calm down again afterwards.
City: No worse air quality in other districts
According to the environmental officer, the diesel driving ban means there is more space on the Mittlerer Ring. As a result, drivers who are now avoiding the full ring would prefer to drive on the city motorway. Kugler also disagrees with the argument that the air quality will then deteriorate on the alternative routes. Calculations commissioned by her department showed that the air quality in other districts would not deteriorate as a result of the alternative traffic.
The president of the “Mobil in Deutschland” car club, Michael Haberland, criticizes the city of Munich’s decision to introduce a diesel driving ban. From his point of view, the pollutant values have fallen enormously in recent years. The air in Munich is good, says Haberland. He sees no basis at all for a driving ban. For him, the driving ban is an expropriation of the affected diesel drivers, who could no longer use their car.
Haberland will sue against the driving ban
Haberland assumes that the driving ban in Munich will be overturned with the help of court proceedings. He refers to the example of Berlin, where the local administrative court rejected driving bans only in streets that were necessary and a nationwide driving ban, as is now the case in Munich.
According to environmental and climate officer Kugler, however, the city had no choice but to gradually impose a ban on diesel driving, because it doesn’t matter whether the air has gotten much better in recent years, the EU limit value is still being exceeded in four places broken for about ten years. If nothing were done, even in 2026 the hotspots on Landshuter Allee, Tegernseer Landstrasse and Leuchtenbergring would still have bad values. According to Kugler, in addition to the health problems for many residents, this also entails legal problems for the city.
Kugler: Munich is threatened with high fines
On the one hand, according to Kugler, there is a risk of high EU fines of up to one million euros a day. On the other hand, the responsibility for air pollution control in Munich was inherited from the Free State last year. With this legacy, two ongoing court cases fell into the lap of the city, both with the Verkehrsclub Deutschland and the German Environmental Aid.
For example, the German Environmental Aid has been involved in a dispute with the Free State for years. The Free State is doing too little to get the poor air quality in Munich under control, was the association’s argument. In fact, the Bavarian state government was repeatedly forced by the Munich Administrative Court and also by the Bavarian Administrative Court to implement air pollution control in the state capital.
More leeway through out-of-court settlement
According to Kugler, the city of Munich, as the legal successor to the Free State, would almost certainly have lost the current court proceedings and would then have been left with court-imposed driving bans. It was therefore decided to negotiate a settlement with the two plaintiff associations.
This has given you a certain amount of creative freedom, which includes, among other things, the staged concept, according to the climate officer. The Euro 4 diesel driving ban will apply from February 1st. If the NOx values do not improve, Euro 5 diesels will also not be allowed on the Mittlerer Ring or in the city center from October.
Exceptional permit: 50 euros per year
In addition, a number of exceptions could be negotiated. Anyone who has to cross the Ring or into the city center for work can apply for a special permit. Cost per year: 50 euros. Actually, this permit would have cost 200 euros. After a public wave of protests rolled towards the city, the district administration department responsible for fees decided, on the advice of the SPD city council faction, to drastically reduce the prices for special permits.
City residents, suppliers and severely disabled people who have a Euro 4 or Euro 5 don’t need any permits at all. However: If the air quality does not improve by April 2024, the general exceptions for residents and delivery traffic will no longer apply.
Supreme Court case law clearly
Announced lawsuits against the diesel driving ban climate and environment officer Christine Kugler is relaxed. There is a supreme case law from the Federal Administrative Court that allows municipal driving bans if there are exceptions and transitional periods. On the other hand, an example was taken from other German cities in which driving bans were issued.
Back to Dießenzüge am Ammersee: Despite the fact that he will need a special permit from October, the Dießen musician Stephan Eppinger can understand the reasons for the diesel driving ban. However, according to Eppinger, local public transport in Bavaria could have been better developed a long time ago, then at least there would be a realistic possibility of getting into the city without a car. But that, Eppinger dismisses, should have been tackled 20 or 30 years ago.