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State capital Stuttgart

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Fine dust alarm triggered in Stuttgart - end still open - Daily News of November 21, 2019.

On Monday, November 18, the state capital Stuttgart issued a fine dust alert for the fourth time in this fine dust alert period.

Start:
from Wednesday, November 20, 0 a.m. for car traffic
from Tuesday, November 19, 6 p.m. for comfort fireplaces

End: The end of the fine dust alarm 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 (DWD) predicts a strongly limited exchange capacity of the atmosphere until at least Saturday. The concentration of particulate matter in Stuttgart may then rise sharply. There is a risk that the limit values will be exceeded. In the event of a fine dust alert, the city and state are appealing 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 for the entire period until April 15, 2020.

To lift the particulate matter alert, the DWD must forecast a sustained and significant improvement in the exchange capacity; a one-day interruption of the severe restriction of the exchange capacity is not sufficient in this regard.

Quick information via social media channels - changes to WhatsApp

A particulate matter alarm is triggered as soon as the DWD forecasts a severely restricted exchange capacity in the atmosphere for at least two consecutive days. The alert is announced one day in advance so that motorists can seek mobility alternatives in good time. 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 also receive up-to-date information on the fine dust alarm via traffic reports on the radio and Vario boards on the city’s entrance and exit roads. Updates and background information are also available at www.feinstaubalarm.stuttgart.de.

During this alert period, the city will again provide information on the particulate matter alert via the messaging services WhatsApp, Telegram and, for the first time, Notify. However, from December 7, 2019, the transmission of information via WhatsApp will change, as from this date it will no longer be possible to send push messages. Users will therefore no longer receive a fine dust alert message via WhatsApp on the display of their smartphone. So that we can continue to keep you up to date with the latest information about the fine dust alert, there are two ways you can continue to use the fine dust alert channel via WhatsApp from December 7:

1. install the app “Notify” on your cell phone: if you have subscribed to our particulate matter alert channel on WhatsApp, you will automatically receive a message from us, with a personalized link to Notify. If you have installed the Notify app, you will receive push notifications on your smartphone screen in the future when there is updated information on the particulate matter alert. Click on the push notification and you will be redirected to the WhatsApp or Notify channel, where you will be able to access the latest fine dust alert with the message #news.

Or

2. retrieve the latest fine dust alert messages every day from 3 p.m. by sending us the message with #news via the fine dust alert channel on WhatsApp. The city will inform again about the procedure in time before the change of the WhatsApp channel.

In addition, the city offers widgets on www.feinstaubalarm.stuttgart.de that can be integrated into websites or intranets of companies to point out the fine dust alert. Once installed, the widgets update automatically.

Further improvements in local public transport

The city of Stuttgart has a dense and well-functioning network of bus, light rail and S-Bahn lines. Over 900,000 people use public transport in Stuttgart every day - and the number is growing. The service is being continuously expanded.

Since April 1, 2019, a new fare zone system has been in place in the Stuttgart Transport and Tariff Association (VVS): 52 fare zones have become five ring zones in the VVS core area. Many passengers will benefit from this. Some save between 25 and 30 percent, in some cases even more. The previous tariff zones 10 and 20 in Stuttgart have become tariff zone 1. The sector boundaries in the outer rings have been removed and the two outer rings 60 and 70 have been combined to form the new tariff zone 5. The state capital Stuttgart and the four regional districts are financing the fare reform with an amount of up to 42.1 million euros per year. The state of Baden-Württemberg is also contributing to the funding.

There will also be improvements to the S-Bahn and Stadtbahn timetable. By the end of 2020, the 15-minute interval for S-Bahn services will gradually be extended to cover the whole day.

The new X1 express bus line was launched in fall 2018. The X1 connects Bad Cannstatt with Stuttgart city center and runs every 5 minutes from Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. A second express bus line was launched with the timetable change in December 2018: The X2 connects Leonberg with Stuttgart city center and runs every 30 minutes from Monday to Friday between 6 am and 8.30 pm. Since the 2018 timetable change, the U16 light rail line has formed a new axis from Fellbach via Bad Cannstatt to Feuerbach and Giebel. It runs from Monday to Friday in the mornings and evenings during peak times. In particular, it relieves the U13 and U1 as well as the U6 in the north of Stuttgart and offers another attractive transfer option for all commuters. In December 2019, the X7 express bus line will be added, which will connect the Harthausen - Bonlanden - Plattenhardt - Stetten - Fasanenhof - Landhaus - Sternhäule - Degerloch ZOB route every 30 minutes throughout the day.

Frequency increases and improvements have also been made to the city bus routes. Bus route 65 (Obertürkheim - Plieningen) will be accelerated and extended to the airport, inner city route 42 will have an extended 7.5-minute interval (until around 7 p.m.) and bus route 80 (Vaihingen station - Synergiepark) will be adapted to the changed demand and will have a 5-minute interval during peak times.

With SSB Flex, SSB also offers a daily ride-sharing service from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. This is accessible via app and has been available throughout the entire Stuttgart city area since the summer. The SSB Flex app is available free of charge from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Subscription campaign for newcomers to public transport

At the SSB, both regular subscription customers and newcomers are benefiting during this fine dust alert period. With the “Stuttgart makes 50/50” campaign, the SSB is rewarding both recommending regular subscription customers and recruited new customers with 50 euros each. The money is available for joining an Everyman, Company, 9 o’clock or 9 o’clock Company subscription on December 1, 2019, January 1, 2020 or February 1, 2020.

At DB, customers also benefit from a bonus of 50 euros if they take out a new company subscription on December 1, 2019 or January 1, 2020.

There is a minute discount on stella scooters

With Feinstaubalarm, all stella-sharing users can now drive at the reduced per-minute rate of just 19 cents per minute. New users can also register free of charge on days with a fine dust alarm by entering the promotion code “fine dust alarm”. The e-scooters are emission-free thanks to 100 percent green electricity from Stadtwerke Stuttgart. In the future, users will receive a notification via the app when there is a fine dust alarm.

Discounts at SHARE NOW and stadtmobil

With a total of 500 electric Smarts and 50 electric Mercedes-Benz B-Classes, SHARE NOW (formerly car2go) in Stuttgart operates the largest electric rental fleet worldwide. The car-sharing providers stadtmobil and Flinkster also offer low-emission vehicles for their members. Stadtmobil is represented in 33 cities and communities in the Stuttgart region. In Stuttgart alone, there are over 140 stations. The fleet of over 520 vehicles includes miniclass and compact cars, station wagons, minibuses and vans. Two electric and eleven hybrid vehicles can also be used in Stuttgart.

At the station-independent car sharing provider SHARE NOW, new customers can register for free and receive a starting credit of 10 euros. The promotion code is: J19_B2C_STG/Feinstaub. Anyone who refers a friend as a SHARE NOW/car2go customer will also receive 10 euros in credit. New customers of the car sharing provider stadtmobil Stuttgart will receive a bonus of 2 x 10 euros time cost credit on the first two trip cost statements when signing a contract on days with a fine dust alert. The offer is valid until the end of the current fine dust alert period and in the area of stadtmobil carsharing AG, Stuttgart. Cash payment or a combination with other discounts or promotions is not possible. Together with many other mobility offers, stadtmobil can be used with the polygoCard of the VVS.

Street cleaning continues - New filter columns go into operation

Also in the new fine dust alert period the “street cleaning fine dust” will be continued. This was decided by the Committee for Urban Development and Technology with a large majority. The lanes and sidewalks around the Neckartor will then again be intensively cleaned from Sunday to Friday between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. until the end of the fine dust alert period. DEKRA will again be responsible for coordinating the street cleaning.

Furthermore, the company MANN+HUMMEL, the state of Baden-Württemberg and the state capital Stuttgart have been testing the effect of so-called air filter columns in a pilot project since January 2019.

In the meantime, 23 such columns have been installed around Stuttgart’s Neckartor. They are intended to filter particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide from the ambient air drawn in, thus helping to reduce air pollution in Stuttgart. In the 4th update of the clean air plan, the installation of further filter columns on Hohenheimer Strasse (20 columns) and on Pragstrasse (10 columns) was included as a new measure.

More on air pollution control in Stuttgart

There has been progress in air pollution control in Stuttgart: Last year, for the first time ever, the number of legally permissible exceedance days for particulate matter (PM 10) of a maximum of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) was complied with at all measuring points in the city area - i.e. also at Neckartor - compared to the 35 exceedance days per year permitted. According to measurements by the Landesanstalt für Umwelt Baden-Württemberg (LUBW), the value at the Am Neckartor measuring point was 20 days; in 2017, 41 days of exceedance were still recorded (road salt and natural sources already deducted). The permissible annual mean limit values for PM 10 of 40 µg/m3 air have already been reached at all stations since 2011.

There are also improvements for the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO 2): In 2018, for example, the number of permissible hours of exceedance (18 per year) was complied with for the second time in a row at all monitoring stations in the urban area. The legally permissible annual mean value of 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) is still exceeded - even if the values at the measuring stations on the highly polluted road sections are declining: In 2018, the value at the Arnulf-Klett-Platz measuring station was 46 µg/m3 air (2017: 56), at the Hohenheimer Straße measuring station 65 µg/m3 air (2017: 69) and at the Am Neckartor measuring station 71 µg/m3 air (2017: 73). Further improvements have occurred so far in 2019. The half-year values published by LUBW for the three measuring stations in Stuttgart are as follows: Arnulf-Klett-Platz 45 µg/m3, Hohenheimer Straße 55 µg/m3 and Am Neckartor 56 µg/m3.

Since January 1, 2019, a traffic ban has been in effect throughout the city of Stuttgart for all motor vehicles with diesel engines with the Euro 4 exhaust emission standard and worse. Residents had a transition period until April 1, 2019. The diesel traffic ban is a measure of the 3rd update of the Clean Air Plan. The 4th update of the Clean Air Plan published on November 18, 2019 includes, among other things, a route-related traffic ban from January 1, 2020 for all vehicles with diesel engines of the Euro 5 emission standard.

More info on the particulate matter alert, comfort chimneys and widgets is available at www.feinstaubalarm.stuttgart.de. Info on the diesel traffic ban and its exceptions is provided by the city at www.stuttgart.de/diesel-verkehrsverbot.

Explanations and information