Beijing and Paris join cities limiting cars downtown

Beijing and Paris join cities limiting cars downtown

Environmental officials in Paris, France think the center of town is no place for large fuel-guzzling vehicles and they’ve taken the first steps toward an outright banning of them.

Paris is not the only French city to implement these changes: Lyon, Grenoble, Aix-en-Provence are joining in this movement also. Elsewhere in Europe, London and Berlin already have such restrictions in place in the form of Low Emission Zones with varying levels of success. Now Beijing, China is getting in on the act as the city is experiencing the environmental fallout of a booming auto market.

It’s not clear yet what types of restrictions will be set in place by Paris and Beijing officials, but indications are there will be limitations on vehicle type by neighborhood and time of day. In the U.S., only New York has attempted to limit vehicle traffic in Manhattan, though no official ban on vehicles has been implemented.

Meanwhile, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are diving into the car-sharing world with programs designed to allow users to experience a slice of luxury without having to buy or lease the vehicle. In Europe,

BMW on Demand will provide drivers with a 1 Series for as little as Œ16 per hour (around $21 US), while those wanting a little more room can opt for a 5 Series for the low price of Œ23/hr ($30/hr), including servicing and cleaning.

Mercedes Benz, meanwhile, is working on programs in both Austin, Texas and Ulm, Germany, were consumers can rent Smart cars for as long as they like and drop them off in convenient car-sharing parking spaces. Users can reserve trim levels and colors on line or by phone and their rental fee is automatically calculated and bank account automatically debited.

The companies say they are delving into car-sharing to confront a growing lack of interest in ownership from the younger generation and increased traffic in urban settings, even though some research has shown that the use of a single shared vehicle can contribute to the loss of as many as nine to 15 personal car sales.