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).

[5] Starting from 16 January 2012, a new scheme (called Milan Area C) was introduced, converting it from a pollution-charge to a conventional congestion charge.

[7][12] 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.

[12] In January 2008 the mayor of Milan, Letizia Moratti and her deputy for mobility and environment Edoardo Croci, launched the Ecopass program [13] expecting a 30% cut in pollution levels and a 10% reduction in traffic.

[3] Also the launch was delayed from October 2007 until after the Christmas and New Year holidays,[10] and the mayor was forced to include discounts for local residents.

[11] 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.

[17] 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.

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.

[17] This study also found that between January and November (excluding August when the charge was temporarily suspended), all traffic related emissions were lower.

The amount of the charge payable depends on the type of vehicle according with their compliance with the European emission standards, and there is a discounted annual pass for residents within the restricted zone (ZTL).

One survey made by a leading newspaper stated that 76% of Milan residents thought that the quality of environment has worsened, but 43% declared that traffic is the primary problem not pollution.

[21] The Milan Mayor, Letizia Moratti, launched the Ecopass program even with opposition among her own political allies, and the original plan had to be scaled down to a smaller area, and the traffic restricted zone (ZTL) project was reduced significantly.

Another complaint relates to the long queue of appeals waiting to be resolved by the courts, as all cases are scheduled to start no earlier than March 2009.