Statement of the day | Market vendors must receive an exemption for environmental zones

From 2025, market vendors will no longer be allowed to enter the city center with diesel or petrol cars. This is a problem for many market stall owners, because they pull their carts with such cars.

In Groningen and Assen, diesel and petrol cars will no longer be welcome in so-called emission-free zones from April 2025. Entrepreneurs in the market are concerned about their future.

Almost all market stall owners have carts that are heavy and large and so they need a large cart to be pulled. An electric bus or hydrogen truck is too expensive for most entrepreneurs.

“A study has shown that by 2025, 50 percent of current market entrepreneurs will no longer be allowed to enter the city,” says Eddy van der Lei of coffee stall Koffie op de Markt.

Temporary exemption

Is there a solution? Yes. A temporary exemption for diesel and petrol cars that have to go to the market. This way, market vendors can save for a more sustainable car until they become affordable.

What do you think? Should market vendors receive an exemption for environmental zones?

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