It's not easy going green
Page 20
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A challenge facing Swiss drivers at the moment is the push to become greener. Drivers complain that environmental laws are coming in too fast. Although not directly opposed to green rules, they say the annual changes end up costing them too much. And, while tough emissions laws mean they pollute less, they actually end up using more fuel.
Activists lobbying for even tougher clean-air laws want more tracks and trains, something the politicians are pushing for as well. "Switzerland is a small land, and it's easier to take hauls by road," says Staehli. "Maybe in the future this will change, but, now, [trains] are not a big threat."
The trains, though, will eventually get better and more cargo will shift to the rails, but Staehli and others think the infrastructure needs much more work before this happens, meaning that many areas will remain off-limits to trains for decades to come. Roads into many parts of the Alps only arrived in the past 100 years.