Ecopass

The Ecopass program was a traffic pollution charge implemented in Milan, Italy, as an urban toll for some motorists traveling within a designated traffic restricted zone or ZTL (Italian: Zone a Traffico Limitato), corresponding to the central Cerchia dei Bastioni area and encircling around 8.2 km2 (3.2 sq mi). The Ecopass was implemented as a one-year trial program on January 2, 2008, and later extended until December 31, 2009. A public consultation was planned to be conducted early in 2009 to decide if the charge becomes permanent.Subsequently, the current charge-scheme was prolonged until December 31, 2011 and starting from January 16, 2012 a new scheme (called Area C) was introduced, actually converting it from a pollution-charge to a conventional congestion charge. The Ecopass program was a traffic pollution charge implemented in Milan, Italy, as an urban toll for some motorists traveling within a designated traffic restricted zone or ZTL (Italian: Zone a Traffico Limitato), corresponding to the central Cerchia dei Bastioni area and encircling around 8.2 km2 (3.2 sq mi). The Ecopass was implemented as a one-year trial program on January 2, 2008, and later extended until December 31, 2009. A public consultation was planned to be conducted early in 2009 to decide if the charge becomes permanent.Subsequently, the current charge-scheme was prolonged until December 31, 2011 and starting from January 16, 2012 a new scheme (called Area C) was introduced, actually converting it from a pollution-charge to a conventional congestion charge. The primary purpose of the program was to reduce traffic and air pollution (it was based on a fee structure according to the vehicle's engine emission standards) and to use the funds raised through the charge to finance public transportation projects, cycle paths and green vehicles. This program was similar to the congestion pricing programs implemented in London and Stockholm, but actually corresponded to a variation of these pricing schemes as only vehicles with high-polluting engines entering the ZTL were charged, and the ones with older most polluting engines were banned. Milan has one of the highest European rates of car ownership, as more than half of Milan citizens use private cars and motorcycles, ranking second only after Rome, and among the highest in the world. The city also has the third-highest concentration of airborne particulate matter among large European cities, both in terms of average annual level and days of exceeding the European Union PM10 limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter, according to a 2007 study supported by several environmental groups. Due to its lingering air pollution problems and associated health problems, in 2007, and for a trial period, the city banned 170,000 older cars and motorcycles that do not pass strict environmental emission standards. In January 2008 the mayor of Milan, Letizia Moratti and her deputy for mobility and environment Edoardo Croci, launched the Ecopass program expecting a 30% cut in pollution levels and a 10% reduction in traffic. She said that it was part of a wider project to reduce smog in the Lombardy region and increase the use of public transportation. The mayor forecast that the scheme would raise €24 million a year, two thirds of which would be invested into public transportation. Because of opposition, even among her own political allies, the original plan had to be scaled down as the traffic restricted zone (ZTL) was reduced from a planned 60 km2 to 8 km2. The implemented Ecopass ZTL represents just 5% of the city's area. Also the launch was delayed from October 2007 until after the Christmas and New Year holidays, and the mayor was forced to include discounts for local residents. The amount of the charge depended on the vehicle's engine emissions standard and fees vary from €2–10 on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Free access to the ZTL was granted to several types of alternative fuel vehicles and for conventional fuel vehicles compliant with the Euro3 and Euro4 or better. Residents within the restricted zone were exempted only if driving higher emission standard vehicles while owners of vehicles with older more polluting engines a discount only if they buy an annual pass that can go up to €250 depending on the vehicle's engine emission standards. Enforcement is carried out through digital cameras located at 43 electronic gates, with fines for offenders varying between €70–275. The Ecopass fee can be paid before entering the ZTL or up to midnight the next day after entering. There are daily and multiple-day passes. Payment of the fee can be made via internet, by telephone, in designated banks or by direct debit to the user's bank account, by first an Ecopass card must be issue at designated places. There were also restrictions on entering the ZTL between 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. for trucks with a length greater than 7 m; commercial loading and unloading operations are restricted to pre-established schedules; and the vehicles with older more polluting engines were forbidden to enter the ZTL during six months a year. Milanese authorities decided to temporarily suspend charging the Ecopass fees during a three-week period in August 2008 in order to facilitate tourism inside the restricted area (ZTL), considering that during this time of the summer local traffic drops by around 30% and pollution levels are usually at a minimum level. An estimated 98,000 vehicles were entering the restricted area before the Ecopass came into force. According to an evaluation conducted by the Milanese Agency of Mobility and the Environment in December 2008, during the first month traffic inside the ZTL fell to 82,200 vehicles, and for the first eleven months the average traffic flow was 87,700 vehicles. This represents 12.3% fewer vehicles entering the ZTL, while outside of the Ecopass area traffic decreased by 3.6%. Meanwhile, surface public transportation service grew by 1,300 additional daily runs, carrying an average of 19,100 additional daily passengers, an increment of 7.3% for this eleven-month period. For the morning rush hour during the same months the number of congested kilometers in the interior traffic network fell by 25.1% and average travel speed improved 4.0%, translating into Euro 9.3 million saved by year. Traffic accidents inside the ZTL also fell by 20.6%. A comparison of the type of vehicles entering the ZTL by engine standard with respect to the months of October and November 2007 found that there has been a change in the composition of the fleet entering the restricted area, with a sharp reduction of older vehicles with lower emission standard engines. The number of vehicles subject to the charge fell by 56.4%, representing an average reduction of 21,274 vehicles per day, with a greater variation among auto drivers when compared to commercial vehicles. The number of exempt vehicles grew by 4.3%, for an average increase of 2.248 vehicles a day.