First smog alert ever in Budapest
A lot of sources report about Budapests first smog alert ever. I can’t quote and link them all but here is an Associated Press article hosted by Google which describes the situation quite good. What is happening at the moment in Budapest is that the government restricted the traffic in Budapest by allowing only pair or impair license plate cars to go on the roads.
This situation is a cause of the gas situation going on in Ukraine/Russia cutting down the gas of in this case Hungary. Thus many companies, shopping centers and productios switched to oil as an alternative energy source which causes serious smog problems in Budapest. The solution of the government is that they allow only pair or impair cars on one day, the opposite on the next day.
However when I was going to restaurant Chez Daniel today for lunch with friends (in an impair car) I saw tons of pair cars hitting the road but no police controlling the situation. I am wondering if tomorrow there will be any difference but honestly I cannot imagine they will check the cars license plates in the morning and evening traffic.
As this blog is read mainly by foreigner who might have taken over their car (like me) and still have their local license plate I was thinking about how this problem is solved. Me as a normal foreigner don’t understand what is in the Hungarian news thus I don’t know what is going on here in Hungary. So even though I know about this situation I will go with my impair car to work tomorrow even though it is pair day, lets see what happens.
So just as a reminder, today is impair day, tomorrow pair, after impair and so on. But anyways I bet I will see tons of cars in the traffic tomorrow with all kinds of license plates.
Hey, thanks for supporting the enviroment and you go by your not allowed car to work… What do you think?! It is not a joke you know… Or you don’t care because you are a foreigner? Come on…
Hey webberke,
thanks for your comment first of all.
I DO support the environment, probably more than other people do but thats another issue.
I drive a fairly environment friendly car (6l/100km in the city) and see SUVs, Jeeps, Hummers, 5l Mercedes Benz and other cars driving on the street every day. Now tell me, for what do you need a Audi Q7, Hummer or Cadillac Escalade in the city if you are never going Off Road? These cars need 20+ liter / 100km and nobody cares…
Just now when the news say that there is a smog problem people come out and start to be Greenpeace activists and protect the environment. Tomorrow when this issue is over they don’t give a shit anymore because than there is no smog problem and they can go on driving their big cars.
And the foreigner issue which you mentioned is a bit next to the point, isn’t it? What I meant with the foreign license plate is if the police (I haven’t seen one today) would care about it or not. And by the way my boss this morning said to me “You are lucky with your foreign car, you can go as you want”.
Anyways as the Ukraine/Russia gas issue seems to be on a good way I think this smog alert will not stay an issue for very long… and than everybody is allowed again to pollute the air.
Cheers
P.S. By the way, normally I am going by bicycle to work and shopping by foot!
I am a foreigner.. Dutch..
And I have the beforetold Mercedes with the 5 liter. wich is because its an oldtimer and therefor unbelievably cheap to drive..But I almost never use it anyway. I use the great public transportation of budapest.
But if I am right the rule does not apply to foreigners? My plate does not even end with a number anyway..
Szia!