Panorama 2015 - Road passenger transport policies in Europe

For a long time synonymous with independence and freedom, the car and its different uses are now increasingly controlled - or even constrained - by European governments. In the most recent example, on 8 December 2014, the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo stated her wish to eradicate diesel from the streets of Paris (in the next five years) to combat air pollution. Going beyond the impact of the announcement itself, this pollution prevention plan comes on top of a whole series of measures recently implemented in Europe: reduction of the speed limit, congestion charging in London and Stockholm, eco-tax in France, 'environmental bonus' for electric vehicles, etc. These different policies, which are not always clearly aligned, aim to reduce the nuisances caused by road transport without compromising mobility. This note aims to explain them by offering an overview of the main transport policies in Europe. (authors)