Umwelt Zones in Germany

[Don Madge]

From 1 January 2008 a total of 33 German cities will require all motorists to purchase a "Pollution Badge" in the form of a windscreen sticker in order to enter city centre ‘Umwelt Zones’ (green zones).

 

The participating cities are: Augsburg, Berlin, Braunschweig, Köln (Cologne), Darmstadt, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt am Main, Hannover, Heidelberg, Islfeld, Karlsruhe, Kassel, Leipzig, Leonburg, Ludwigsburg, Madgeburg, Mannheim, Mühlacker, München (Munich), Neu-Ulm, Nürnberg (Nuremberg), Pforzheim, Pleidelsheim, Regensburg, Reutlingen, Ruhr Area, Schwäbish-Gmund, Stuttgart, Tübingen and Ulm.

 

You must present your vehicle registration document at Pollution Badge (Umwelt Plakette) sales outlets, including vehicle repair centres, car dealers, MOT (Tüv) stations and vehicle licensing offices, and you will be issued with a badge, coloured (Red/Yellow/Green) according to your vehicle’s Euro emission rating.

 

The cost of the badge is understood to be between €5 and €10 and, once issued, covers you throughout Germany for the life of your vehicle. Failure to display a badge could incur a fine of €40. Enforcement will be managed by the police, local authorities and traffic wardens.

 

The system seems fairer than the LEZ as it effects all motor vehicles and the badge lasts for the life of the vehicle and covers all the participating cities.

 

Most of this info is Courtesy of the Caravan Club.

 

If I find any further details I'll keep you all posted.

 

Safe travelling

 

Don

 

[Thai Bry]

Don

As always, thanks very much for your informed postings.

Very interesting for me as off again to Germany in the new year.

Van will be alright as it's new this year and i've checked with MB & Hymer and it does meet the latest German emmission laws.

Many thanks once again

Thai

[Basil]

Thai Bry - 2007-11-06 4:02 PMVan will be alright as it's new this year and i've checked with MB & Hymer and it does meet the latest German emmission laws.

Many thanks once again

Thai

Not sure, perhaps Don will confirm, but I think if what I read is correct you will still need an Umwelt sticker, it is just that yours will be at the minimum charge whatever that is.Bas

[Don Madge]

Basil - 2007-11-06 4:09 PM

Thai Bry - 2007-11-06 4:02 PMVan will be alright as it's new this year and i've checked with MB & Hymer and it does meet the latest German emission laws.

Many thanks once again

Thai

Not sure, perhaps Don will confirm, but I think if what I read is correct you will still need an Umwelt sticker, it is just that yours will be at the minimum charge whatever that is.Bas

Yes you will need a sticker but it should be a green one if your vehicle conforms to the latest emission laws.There's a very interesting post on MHF at http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-28943-days0-orderasc-15.htmlDon

[david lloyd]

Don Madge - 2007-11-06 3:54 PM

 

The system seems fairer than the LEZ as it effects all motor vehicles and the badge lasts for the life of the vehicle and covers all the participating cities.

 

 

Hi Don

 

..............and considerably cheaper than Mr Livingstone's system too!!

 

David

[Thai Bry]

Basil - 2007-11-06 4:09 PM

Thai Bry - 2007-11-06 4:02 PM Van will be alright as it's new this year and i've checked with MB & Hymer and it does meet the latest German emmission laws.

Many thanks once again

Thai

Not sure, perhaps Don will confirm, but I think if what I read is correct you will still need an Umwelt sticker, it is just that yours will be at the minimum charge whatever that is. Bas

Bas

Sorry for any misunderstanding on my part. I was meaning to say that I would be OK from a cost point of view as I would fall into the lower price bands.

Thai

[net-traveller]

Can I refer this thread to -

 

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=7609&posts=9

 

;-)

[Don Madge]

Thai Bry - 2007-11-07 9:55 AM

Basil - 2007-11-06 4:09 PM

Thai Bry - 2007-11-06 4:02 PM Van will be alright as it's new this year and i've checked with MB & Hymer and it does meet the latest German emmission laws.

Many thanks once again

Thai

Not sure, perhaps Don will confirm, but I think if what I read is correct you will still need an Umwelt sticker, it is just that yours will be at the minimum charge whatever that is. Bas

Bas

Sorry for any misunderstanding on my part. I was meaning to say that I would be OK from a cost point of view as I would fall into the lower price bands.

Thai

This is a post from the Motorhome List by Andy Clarke it sheds a bit more light on the subject."I've looked into this a bit, German registered vehicles can get an Umweltplakette, as Don says, by presenting their registration document at approved sales outlets. The Plakette issued is determined by a code number present on the registration document.Naturally, this code is only present on a German registration document.As I understand it there is no solution yet for foreign registered vehicles to obtain a Plakette, but the zones still apply, if you drive into a controlled zone without a Plakette, you will be fined.This website gives a lot of information (in German): http://www.umwelt-plakette.deThis is their response to my question about foreign registered vehicles:"First, you should know, Germans are typical complicated. There ist no solution für foreign customers.The theorie is, the car come to Germany and move in a border station/proof-shop, show the car and will get a "Plakette".I know, that this solution dont exist in this moment. Wait for January, we will see.Second: We show the zones in Germany for free!. You can help to bring our link www.umwelt-plakette.de to many websites in your country. The advantage is, a visitor with a car can see, where is a zone and where not. So, a foreigner can drive arround a zone. Because the driver dont know that, the police will take 40 Euro and give a additional penalty.So, our link for the 40 zones (in Moment) are a big adventure for every people in Europe who will come to germany"I'm hoping it will all be sorted when we get back from our winter travels in June.RegardsDon

[Wingpete]

Look like a lot of older 'vans will be barred from big cities all over europe soon. And there seems to be no reasonable means of improving the emmissions to ensure compliance.

Seems like the carrying of an additonal leisure vehicle for city access will become the norm

That's why I'm selling my '03 Laika. Mayor RED Ken will make it too expensive to bring to my London address for loading for trips. >:-)

[Basil]

The point is that I would accept paying a reasonable charge such as the apparent cost of the Umwelt charge, the Red Ken LEZ charge may be justifiable for large heavy goods vehicles that are in and out all the time and maybe need to be cut down on but to me the LEZ is just excessive for the small amount of use that motorhomes would make of it.

Frankly when it comes to London I don't much care but my concern is if other places see them get away with it then we could all end up not being able to use our vans for our holidays unless we dump our dirty vehicles and buy a new one that corresponds to the latest standard. Oh yes then that will change and they will be banned as well as stricter and stricter standards are introduced.

We bought ours with a view to it being the last one we will buy and will see us out for the rest of our touring days, not to be by the looks of it, but we will not buy another we will either give up or go back to caravanning or cruiser sailing.

 

Bas

[Keith T]

Having bought a new Burstner earlier in the year, at least it will meet Red Kens requirments - although we dont' drive IN London, we do go to Abbey Wood CC site quite regularly,mostly round the M25, but then in the area which I understand would incur a charge otherwise in due course.

Perhaps now the Germans seem to be intent on bringing in a similar charge, for which we would be at the bottome of end of the costs, i guess, as it's a German-built van, we should try to get Burstner to get hold of the necessary pollution badge on our behalf. Maybe, once the admin side of that is sorted out, we should suggest this to the Burstner Owners Club, as judging from the number of Burstner's now appearing on UK roads, there must be quite a few of us who would find this a helpful solution!

[Basil]

Keith T - 2007-11-07 10:54 PM

 

Having bought a new Burstner earlier in the year, at least it will meet Red Kens requirments -

 

 

At the moment!! He is already looking at bringing in a charge for cars and Euro V & VI are on the table, so as it gets ever and ever stricter yours will eventually fall foul no doubt!

Mind you it should help the new van dealers to sell more and the bottom will drop out of the second hand market, ask yourself with what you know now would you buy anything that is less than Euro IV?

 

Bas

[Keith T]

Bas, - I agree with you. Wouldn't be quite so bad if anyway beleived it would actually go towards doing anything for the environment, rather than just another way to rip of the poor taxpayer!

[Basil]

Keith I couldn't agree more.

 

Bas

[Rayjsj]

Keith T - 2007-11-08 10:20 AM

 

Bas, - I agree with you. Wouldn't be quite so bad if anyway beleived it would actually go towards doing anything for the environment, rather than just another way to rip of the poor taxpayer!

 

 

 

And send a lot of perfectly serviceable Motorhomes to an early Grave,

Not to mention the loss to owners of vehicles that are unable to comply.

A VERY VERY large hammer to crack a small nut !! Well intentioned but causing a lot of collateral damage.

And to all those Manufacturers who think that this will bring them a 'windfall' in new orders.........think again, those who get 'Bitten' will probably just 'Give up' . Very Sad for motorhomes. :'(

[Basil]

Another thing I have just picked up on if I have read correctly, any prior to 1971 are excluded?? They are probably even more polluting than any of us and possibly do similar mileage to some, whilst I accept that classics deserve to be recognised where is the logic in that if its purpose is intended to reduce emmisions??

 

Bas

[bigal55]

Keith T - 2007-11-08 10:20 AM

 

Bas, - I agree with you. Wouldn't be quite so bad if anyway beleived it would actually go towards doing anything for the environment, rather than just another way to rip of the poor taxpayer!

the people who think these things up get all there travel paid for and have lost touch with the normal world and how these taxes impact on the ordinary person. look at the mess thev have made with capital gains tax, big headlines, tax the hedge funds, but the worst hit are the small businesses