The Council of Ministers has approved the Sustainable Mobility Act, which includes this measure to implement the Low Emission Zones plan
2023 will bring changes in traffic that will affect the most polluting vehicles. The plan for low emission zones, included in the climate change law, had been announced for some time, but after the adoption of the sustainable mobility law by the Council of Ministers, its implementation will officially start next year. And this project includes a measure to limit circulation: charging a fee or toll to enter the center of the cities.
The low-emission zone plan was born with the aim of improving air quality. They are demarcated areas where access, traffic and parking of the most polluting vehicles is restricted. This classification uses the environmental stickers that can only be achieved by the most environmentally friendly vehicles (0, ECO, green and yellow). And the rest of the vehicles that do not meet the requirements to be classified as clean will have these circulation restrictions applied. It is therefore expected that approximately 24 million vehicles will be affected by the regulation.
These zones must be introduced in 2023 in all Spanish cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. And the municipal authorities will be responsible for demarcating the areas and setting up adequate signage and a camera system for license plate readers. “The beginning of the measure is the beginning of the sanctions regime for vehicles that violate the rules, that is, vehicles that, despite limited access to the area, still circulate in it,” they explain from the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT). ).
The possibility of including a tax or toll to be paid by those who are not entitled to the environmental sticker but who want to access the busiest areas of cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants is also left to the municipalities. “This legal authorization allows municipalities that wish to introduce a fee for the movement of vehicles that exceed the limits or maximum categories of free movement established in low-emission zones.” For example, this measure has been included in the Sustainable Mobility Act.
The government document ‘Guidelines for the creation of low-emission zones’ explains that the amount of tolls that drivers will have to pay from 2023 “may also vary depending on the condition of the vehicle, based on the principle of ‘he who pollutes pays’ or congestion, based on the principle of “the user pays” (payment for the use of public space in case of excess traffic)”. In the latter case, the possibility is opened to increase the amount during rush hour.
The text indicates that “the toll can be configured as an effective measure to encourage modal change and reduce traffic volume, as it translates the negative effects of the car into economic terms that are clearly discernible to the public.”
Source: La Verdad
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