Traffic expert-high field: “Not only Tinker with its symptoms”

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Engineered Diesel cars pollute the air. With the promotion of public transport the policy of a quick solution, says transport expert Christian high field. He recommends the view to China.

Tram without a driver in Zhuzhou (China)

Deutsche Welle: Mr-high-field, the Federal government wants to make in five model cities urban transport more attractive and so air pollution there reduce. Bonn, Essen, Mannheim, Reutlingen and Mr mountain to get up to 130 million euros in the next three years. How do you assess the proposed measures?

This All happens in the context of the immediate action programme for clean air. And if you delete the word from the title, I would say it is a step in the right direction, because quick results are not to be expected.

It is important not fiddling, just the symptoms, of the emissions from the transport sector, nitrogen oxides, but to grab the root of the Problem. The Diesel-scandal-obscures the greater task, namely our transport system rebuild in order to limit climate change. This is only possible, if the model type of the investigated approaches are also worn in the width.


  • The plan of five German cities for better air

    Faster with the bike on the road

    As in Copenhagen, Reutlingen, and eat fast cycle plan routes through the city. The Expansion of the Bicycle road network is “long overdue,” says expert Christian hochfeld of the Agora-traffic turning. “We realize that people require on a bike, but the public space is not distributed in a fair way: Just Park Cars is given a lot of space.”


  • The plan of five German cities for better air

    Cheap from A to B

    Four out of five cities put on cheap transport. In Bonn and Reutlingen, there should be climate-year tickets, following the model of Vienna for 365 Euro, so for 1 Euro per day. Mannheim and Mr mountain price reductions for single-plan, Multi – trip and time cards. Consent of expert-high field: “Cheaper public TRANSPORT is the right way forward, however, the quality needs to be saved anyway.”


  • The plan of five German cities for better air

    Less time to wait

    How nice it is, if you go to the bus stop and zack, comes the next Bus. So public transport is fun. Bonn wants to condense, therefore, many bus lines and the clock, so that the waiting times at bus stops are shorter. Analog plan Reutlingen and eat. High-field: “time compression is an absolute requirement that people in the inner cities require on the public TRANSPORT.”


  • The plan of five German cities for better air

    More Bus Stops

    We all know that the bus stop Is too far away from the apartment, or not close enough to the destination, it is, perhaps, rather to the car. Therefore, Reutlingen, Germany, is planning a new bus network with ten new bus lines and one hundred (!) new stops.


  • The plan of five German cities for better air

    No Waiting for buses

    Additional bus lanes are to animate in Herrenberg people to take the bus: In the Bus you will be driving then all of the waiting cars and be happy. Also, green circuits, buses are a means. “The result is that people perceive public TRANSPORT as a faster and more convenient,” commented high-field. “If 40 people sitting in the Bus, should have the precedence over a single human in the Car.”


  • The plan of five German cities for better air

    Green Wave

    Stop-and-Go is not only a strain for the nerves of the motorists, but also for the environment. When Starting a car consumes much Fuel and emits a lot of exhaust gases. Mr. mountain plans to a dynamic control of traffic lights so that motorists can ride the green wave. Instead of the seconds to the next Red light to be displayed, how many km/h free travel.


  • The plan of five German cities for better air

    Packages come with the E-Bike

    Mannheim built a “Micro-Hub”: an envelope of space, on the packages from the truck on E-Bikes will be loaded. This means less delivery trucks to drive into the city centre. “A good addition,” says Christian hochfeld. However, “we Want to continue to allow people to order the smallest units online that are then delivered one by one?” Here, the expert sees pent-up demand.


  • The plan of five German cities for better air

    Hybrid buses

    In Cologne and many other cities, they are already driving around: hybrid buses to reduce harmful emissions. Mannheim now want to procure low-emission Euro 6 hybrid buses for the city centre. Especially cyclists who often have to drive behind buses, will be pleased.


  • The plan of five German cities for better air

    Go digital

    No use against gases, but it is good for cool image of Bus and rail: Many German cities already offer Apps very quickly and paperless e-tickets for the public transport buy. Mannheim wants to expand the e-ticket now. Mr. Berg is planning a city-Mobility-App, including rental bicycles and car-sharing easier to organise.

    Author: Brigitte Osterath


In the model cities the improvement of public transport, in order to better deals, cheaper ticket prices, Expansion of Bicycle roads and a climate-friendly delivery transport. Is this the right way?

Yes. As an Alternative to private Car use, we need attractive offers. And this is only possible with a better timing of buses and trains. This improves the quality of public transport. For this, investments are necessary.

But this is only one side of the coin. It is also necessary that the individual paid traffic in the city a fair price. This means that he paid for the environmental impact and for the use of public space in the city stronger. Because you will get new things in the world, if you get old things from the world.

Christian hochfeld of the Agora of traffic turning

Motorists should pay for the air pollution, roads and Parking space?

These are the so-called external costs of transport, caused by the car. The emissions, the use of space-need to get in the future a price tag. So far, the drivers are not, or only insufficient, but the General public bears this cost. This leads to enormous losses in welfare.

The promotion of model cities is not enough, alone, to improve the air quality for the health and climate protection?

This promotion is only one component and will not be sufficient. We need holistic concepts in order to achieve the necessary effects.

The Public will now be attempts by this model in five cities a bit of Sand in the eyes scattered. The more effective and faster way to clean air, a programme for the retrofitting of Diesel passenger Cars would be. Without this retrofit, we will not achieve the necessary emission reductions to comply with the limits.

Driving ban for Diesel cars in Hamburg, in order to reduce the air pollution

The Federal government is not committed to the manufacturer but to the retrofitting of Diesel passenger cars. So driving restrictions on air pollution in more and more cities are inevitable?

Driving bans for Diesel Cars in cities will only come from the table, if a dirty Diesel can be retrofitted with the Hardware. This retrofit is basically timely, achievable and affordable. Last week, an Initiative of some companies of the ADAC and from environmental organisations on the example of vehicles of the VW showed group, the Hardware solution will cost around 2000 Euro, and thus the emissions can be effectively reduced.

China is pushing ahead with the Expansion of electric mobility massively. In the provincial town of Bèngbù there are already more than 700 electric buses.

They were for a long time as a transport expert in China, and are also still on the Advisory Board for electric mobility. China’s traffic is already a role model?

Yes. The problem is pressure to improve the quality of the air has led in the last three years, to far-reaching innovations. China is, therefore, with many initiatives in the field of transport and organisation of transport of tomorrow as a role model.

It has been adapted in China, the legal and policy framework, as well as very targeted companies in the field of climate and environmentally friendly mobility. China shows how to improve the environmental situation and at the same time, the industry location.

What recommendation you give the German policy?

It should make for a challenging climate – and environmental policy in the traffic and not against it.

At the Moment, we see, however, in the discussion of the new EU limits on CO2 limits for passenger cars that Germany is stepping on the brake.

From our perspective, the not for climate protection, but also industrial and economic policy the wrong way. This means, in Particular, in the Federal policy, you must retrofit as the first in the head. A challenging climate – and environmental regulation of traffic, pays off at the end of the day in terms of economic policy.

Christian hochfeld is the managing Director of Agora shift in Traffic, and is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Chinese platform for electric mobility (China EV100). By 2015, he headed the German society for International cooperation (GIZ), the program for sustainable transport in China. From 2004 to 2010 he was a member of the Executive Board of the Öko-Institut. High-field engineer for the protection of the environment.

The Interview was conducted by Gero Rueter