Post by freebbc on Mar 17, 2014 14:06:33 GMT
Driving restrictions will come into force in the French capital of Paris in a bid to reduce dangerous levels of air pollution.
As part of the measures, drivers and motorcyclists will only be able to use their vehicles every other day, according to the odd or even numbers on their licence plates.
On Friday, public transport was made available free of charge for three days in an effort to encourage people to reduce their car use.
The French government decided to impose the ban after air pollution exceeded safe levels for five days in a row in Paris and surrounding areas. Paris is more prone to smog than other European capitals because of its high number of private car drivers and France's diesel subsidies.
French environmental experts said recent Paris air quality has been among the worst on record, rivalling the Chinese capital Beijing, which is one of the world's most polluted cities.
Pollutions levels reached 180 microgrammes of PM10 particulates per cubic metre on Friday - more than double the safe limit of 80.
Foreigners driving through Paris, including many Britons, will not be prevented from using their cars.
As part of the measures, drivers and motorcyclists will only be able to use their vehicles every other day, according to the odd or even numbers on their licence plates.
On Friday, public transport was made available free of charge for three days in an effort to encourage people to reduce their car use.
The French government decided to impose the ban after air pollution exceeded safe levels for five days in a row in Paris and surrounding areas. Paris is more prone to smog than other European capitals because of its high number of private car drivers and France's diesel subsidies.
French environmental experts said recent Paris air quality has been among the worst on record, rivalling the Chinese capital Beijing, which is one of the world's most polluted cities.
Pollutions levels reached 180 microgrammes of PM10 particulates per cubic metre on Friday - more than double the safe limit of 80.
Foreigners driving through Paris, including many Britons, will not be prevented from using their cars.
www.ibtimes.co.uk/paris-introduces-driving-restrictions-tackle-pollution-1440519
Why can't they invest more in public transport?
London is quite a different story to Paris because London have the Low Emission Zone.
But implementing low fares on transport and better service would encourage people to use public transport because there would be less cars on the road.
But what Paris have been doing is quite complicated, why can't they just impose a congestion charge and/or low emission zone instead?
