Basel Tops Swiss Crime Stats; German Rail Workers Strike Cripples Badischer Banhof; New Pollution Rules For Cars

News For 28 March 2023

On Monday the Federal Statistics Office of Switzerland released its latest publication which includes details about the incidence of crime in the country. Once again this year, the city-canton of Basel Stadt took the inglorious number one spot for the number of violent crimes.  Digging further into the report, the single largest source of violence appears to be associated with nightlife and the attractions in the city which draw from the surrounding region.

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Due to a strike by German rail workers, the Badischer Bahnhof in Basel was a ghost town on Monday without rail service or any sign of railway employees.  Fortunately, SBB had arranged for additional bus service to accommodate the tens of thousands of daily commuters that rely on the German railway to get to their jobs in Basel.  Many people also seemed to have simply stayed at home to avoid the possible roadway traffic, as border crossings on the major roadways reported no unusual increases in automobile traffic.

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A new environmental protection rule went into effect January first of this year requiring all vehicles with diesel engines on Swiss roads to pass a particulate matter emissions test.  Roughly 30% of autos on the road are powered with diesel, and of those cars, roughly 20% have a defective particulate filter which no longer complies with the new rules. Cars and trucks that fail the emissions test are deemed to no longer be road worthy, and can not be driven on Swiss roads.  Adding insult to injury, particulate filters for private vehicles can cost between two and four thousand francs to replace, and only when a difficult to find part is available.