Vitoria-Gasteiz approves the draft regulatory ordinance for the low emission zone

The Low Emission Zone (ZBE) of Vitoria-Gasteiz will come into effect in 2025 in the Old Town and in several streets of Ensanche, where restrictions will apply to the movement of certain vehicles, but it will not be until January 1, 2027 when the access will be prohibited for cars without an environmental label and until 2030 this ban will be extended to cars with a B, with a few exceptions.

Last Friday, the city council approved the draft regulatory ordinance for the ZBE, which will cover the medieval city and part of Ensanche when first implemented.

From now on, the administrative procedure continues with the debate in the corresponding municipal committee and the next step will be its approval by the plenary.

Progressive implementation

In one first phase starting in 2025, the basic criterion will be to eliminate traffic passing through a priority residential area whose perimeter will be delimited by more than a hundred signs and which will be controlled by 30 reading cameras of registrations.

Specifically, this area will relate to the Medieval helmet and the part of Expansion bordered by the streets of La Paz, Ortiz de Zárate, Florida, Ramón y Cajal, Luis Heintz, Magdalena, Vicente Goicoechea, Cercas Bajas, Siervas de Jesús, Portal de Arriaga and San Ignacio de Loyola.

Residents, those with access to parking spaces, staff of commercial and service companies, loading and unloading and emergency vehicles and holders of parking cards for people with reduced mobility, among others, will have access to this area.

The owners of vehicles belonging to one of these categories must do this register in the access control system and has the corresponding authorization.

In the second phaseFrom January 1, 2027, access will be prohibited to all vehicles that do not have an environmental label, i.e. petrol vehicles registered before 2001 and diesel vehicles before 2006.

Only in 2030 will this ban be extended to holders of the B badge.

However, there will be several exceptions to the environmental label restrictions, one of which concerns the level of income. It will be necessary to demonstrate that the gross annual income is lower than at least twice the income indicator used as a reference when calculating aid, subsidies or tax credits.

Vehicles owned by professionals who have reached retirement age will also be exempt and whose owners must demonstrate that they have a maximum of five years of premiums left to reach the legal retirement age, as well as vehicles classified as historic, vehicles of public services or the owners and tenants of parking spaces within the ZBE.

All these exemptions are valid for three years.

The sanctions For failure to comply with this regulation, costs will vary from €90 for minor violations and €200 for serious violations. Although they will not be implemented immediately, there will be some delay.

The Councilor for Security, Iñaki Gurtubai, has pointed out that this arrangement was made “without imposing anything on the citizens”, as their contributions are taken into account during the participation process.

He has assured that the draft regulation offers “greater legal guarantees” than those in other cities, where the regulation of low-emission zones has ended up in court.