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State capital Stuttgart

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Fine dust alarm triggered in Stuttgart - end still open

Daily news of October 14, 2017 - The state capital of Stuttgart issued a fine dust alert for the first time in this fine dust alert period on Saturday, October 14.

Start:
from Monday, October 16, 0.00 a.m. for car traffic
from Monday, October 16, 18.00 for comfort fireplaces

End:
The end of the particulate matter alert is open.

The aim of the fine dust alarm is to reduce the expected pollution with fine dust and nitrogen dioxide during weather conditions in Stuttgart with very little exchange. Currently, the German Weather Service Service (DWD) predicts a severely limited exchange capacity of the atmosphere for at least Monday and Tuesday. On these days, the concentration of particulate matter, but also nitrogen dioxide in Stuttgart can rise sharply. There is a risk that the limit values will be exceeded.

To lift the fine dust alarm, the DWD must forecast a sustainable and significant improvement of the exchange capacity, a one-day interruption of the strong restriction of the exchange capacity is not sufficient.

City climatologist Reuter: “High pressure ensures poorer air exchange”.

During fine dust alerts, the city and state appeal to the population in Stuttgart and the metropolitan region not to use their cars in Stuttgart if possible and to switch to environmentally friendly means of transport or to form car pools. In addition, the operation of so-called comfort fireplaces, which do not serve the basic supply but only as an additional heat source, is prohibited during fine dust alerts. The ordinance issued by the state banning the operation of comfort fireplaces (Air Quality Ordinance-Small Combustion Plants) applies on days with a particulate matter alert during the entire period until April 15, 2018.

City climatologist Ulrich Reuter explained on Saturday, October 14: “After a rather autumnal period with changeable, windy and rainy weather, high pressure influence is now setting in. The sunny, dry weather combined with little wind makes for beautiful autumn days, but for poorer air exchange. This low-exchange weather situation prevents the distribution and removal of air pollutants into the atmosphere. So that means the conditions for particulate matter alerts are met.” Low-exchange weather conditions can occur throughout the year, Reuter said. However, he said, they are more intense during the winter months. “That’s mainly because the sun doesn’t have the power to dissipate them quickly. As a result, air pollutants near the ground can no longer be removed, and the concentration of particulate matter and also
nitrogen dioxide increase,” said Reuter.

New UmweltTagesTicket and better public transport connections

At the start of the new fine dust alert period, there will be various offers for transfer passengers. The VVS, for example, is offering the new, low-priced UmweltTagesTicket. This is not only available during the fine dust alert, but throughout the entire period from October 16, 2017 to April 15, 2018. The UmweltTagesTicket is issued in three price levels: for one to two zones, for three to four zones, and for five zones or more for the entire network. The ticket costs no more than a round trip in the cheaper zone. Subscription customers who travel daily with the VVS are always cheaper with their ZeitTicket, despite this reduction.
cheaper on the road.



At the start of the new fine dust alert period, the expansion of public transport also continues: for example, from October 16, 2017, the U19 light rail line from Neugereut to Neckarpark will go into continuous operation. It will then run every 10 minutes on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., thus relieving the U2, which is heavily used in the section between Neugereut and Bad Cannstatt.

From December 2017, the U12 will also be extended to Remseck. It will then run from Dürrlewang via the Europaviertel district with the new Budapester Platz stop and Hallschlag with the new Bottroper Straße stop to Remseck. In addition, 80-meter trains will be used there during the day for the first time. This doubles capacity on the entire route of the U12 between Remseck and Dürrlewang, which will have a particularly positive effect on the inner city area.

Discounts with mobility partners

The mobility providers car2go and moovel are once again supporting the air pollution control activities of the city of Stuttgart: The car sharing provider car2go allows all customers to use the all-electric smarts fortwo from car2go for 25 cents per minute (instead of 29 cents) during fine dust alerts. The price per minute for the electric B-Class is 34 cents. New customers can register during the entire Feinstaubalarm-
period and receive a credit of five euros when they register online by entering the following promotion code: J17_LC_STG/Fine Dust Alert.

The discount is valid in the Stuttgart car2go business area including parts of the region. The car2go cars can be rented and unrented via smartphone. The reduced fine dust alarm price is automatically deposited on these days. Parking is free of charge in all public parking lots, in residents’ parking lots, in all free parking lots, in parking spots reserved especially for car2go, and in selected parking garages.

You can also travel more cheaply with moovel: The mobility platform takes over every second VVS ticket purchase within the moovel app when there is a fine dust alert: A random generator decides when a trip is booked whether moovel will cover the costs. The probability that moovel customers will travel free of charge by bus and train is 50 percent. The chance of winning applies to every ticket offered in the app: One-way ticket, children’s ticket or short-haul ticket. Immediately after booking, the user is informed via push message as well as in the invoice whether the trip is free of charge. This promotion is valid in the entire VVS area exclusively during fine dust alerts and is available exclusively via the moovel app.

Quick information via social media channels

A particulate matter alarm is triggered as soon as the German Weather Service (DWD) forecasts a severely restricted exchange capacity of the atmosphere for at least two consecutive days. Due to the low-exchange weather conditions, there is a risk that the limit values for particulate matter, but also for nitrogen dioxide, will be exceeded. Especially in the winter half-year, weather conditions may prevail more frequently that favor an enrichment of the air with pollutants. These low-exchange weather conditions prevent the distribution and removal of air pollutants into the atmosphere.

The particulate matter alert is announced one day in advance so that motorists can seek mobility alternatives in a timely manner. The media and the public will be informed of the start, progress and end of the alert in the event of a particulate matter alert between approximately 1 and 2 p.m. each day. In addition, the city provides immediate information via its social media channels www.facebook.com/Stadt.Stuttgart and www.twitter.com/stuttgart stadt . Motorists receive up-to-date information about the particulate matter alert via traffic reports on the radio, bridge banners on the roads and Vario boards on the inner-city entrance and exit roads. Up-to-date and background information is also available at www.feinstaubalarm.stuttgart.de.

To inform the population as quickly as possible, the city will again offer the messaging services WhatsApp, Telegram and Insta. Interested citizens can subscribe to the municipal channel of the respective provider and then immediately receive information on current air pollution and particulate matter alerts via push messages. In addition, the city offers widgets at www.feinstaubalarm.stuttgart.de that can be integrated into websites or company intranets to draw attention to the particulate matter alert. Once installed, the widgets update automatically.

“Street cleaning fine dust” at Neckartor starts on October 16

With the start of the new fine dust alert period, the test project “Street Cleaning Fine Dust” will also be continued. Following a Europe-wide invitation to tender, DEKRA was commissioned to coordinate and implement the project. The lanes and sidewalks around the Neckartor will be cleaned between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. from Sunday to Friday until the end of the fine dust alert period on April 15, 2018. The costs amount to around 600,000 euros in the current period. The start is on the night of October 16 to 17.

The first project phase ran from March 1 to April 6, 2017, and the streets were intensively cleaned using a combination of water pressure cleaning, suction as well as mechanical cleaning. Evaluations by DEKRA showed: There are indications that this form of street cleaning can have a positive effect on particulate matter levels at Neckartor. In order to obtain a valid statement on whether cleaning can actually achieve a reduction in particulate matter pollution, the Committee for Environment and Technology of the Stuttgart City Council decided in July 2017 to continue the test project.

Attention editors:

Further background information is bundled in the attached press release dated October 12, 2017.

Explanations and information