Downtown Milan now requires driving pass

[unhappycamper]

Downtown Milan now requires driving pass
By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Those interested in checking out the fashion and financial capital of Italy might want to consider taking the train: The city of Milan has implemented a complex tax on vehicles visiting the downtown area in an effort to cut down on traffic and air pollution.

Unfortunately, paying the levy isn’t as simple as throwing a few coins in the basket as you drive into town.

“It’s confusing, even to Italians,” said a woman who answered the phone at one of the city’s tourist offices and declined to give her name.

In order to visit the core part of the city, vehicles will pass by entrances monitored by video cameras, which will take pictures of cars’ license plates. If the owner of a particular license plate isn’t registered by the city as having paid the fee, the driver will face a fine ranging from 70 to 275 euros ($105 to $415). Those fines will eventually make their way to owners by mail, similar to some speeding tickets.

In order to avoid a fine, vehicle owners must purchase an Eco Pass, which can be done in four ways: through a participating bank, online, via an automated phone number or from a local newsstand, tobacco shop or bar. Once purchased, vehicle owners have until the day after they use the Eco Pass to send a text message to city hall. The message must include the 12-digit personal identification number on the back of the pass and the license plate number.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51472



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