The EcoPass program is being launched as a one-year trial. The plan is to cut the smog produced by the 89,000 vehicles that travel Milan’s city center each day. And although Milan is the first European city to market with such a plan, it’s certainly not going to be the last. Already Rome has instituted rules limiting the worst diesel polluters and Turin is considering a pollution charge of its own, reports Reuters.
According to Milan’s mayor, the EcoPass plan is being looked at by many cities as a model for reducing pollution and promoting health in urban areas. She plans to outline the program for the United Nations in the coming weeks. Spreading the plan to other cities may be inevitable, but it will meet its share of resistance if London’s program is any indication.