Sir, – Ian Beckett observes that in Vienna ownership of electric cars is incentivised by the provision of free parking and charging (Letters, October 16th).
In truth, public transport is so good in Vienna, nobody needs a car, but outside the city it’s a different matter.
Austria’s motorway network has a general speed limit of 130 km/h but there is also a speed-based pollution management system on 20 per cent of its roads, either permanently or when the air quality drops below a threshold, where the speed limit drops to 100 km/h.
Drivers of electric vehicles can ignore the signs and keep cruising at 130 km/h.
That Jaguar I-Pace overtaking everyone isn’t spewing out noxious emissions and, since 80 per cent of electricity is generated from hydropower and other renewable sources here, it’s clean and green. – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN DOHERTY,
Vienna.