BARCELONA is set to ban high-emission vehicles from an area 20 times the size of the so-called 'Madrid Central' traffic-free zone in the capital, starting next year.
Practically the entire city, except the industrial Zona Franca, Tibidabo, Les Planes and Vallvidrera areas, plus the suburbs and satellite towns of Sant Adrià de Besòs, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, and part of Esplugues de Llobregat and Cornellà de Llobregat will form part of the new 'Low Emissions Zone' (Zona de Bajas Emisiones, or ZBE).
Deputy chairman of mobility, transport and sustainability for the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), Antoni Poveda, says the ZBE will cover a whopping 95 square kilometres – compared to about five kilometres for Madrid Central, a scheme most residents in the capital support but which the newly-elected local government may not keep in force.
The oldest cars, says Poveda, will be banned from the entire ZBE between 07.00 and 20.00, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays, on pain of a minimum fine of €100.
From January 1, a three-month trial will take place so everyone has a chance to get used to the idea, but fines will start to apply from April 1.
Only cars and motorcycles are affected, since buses, coaches, lorries and vans have been given a year's stay of grace to adapt – either by finding ways to reduce their emissions, or to seek alternative routes and stay out of the city.
This is largely because it will take longer for drivers of these vehicles to change their practices, as they are mostly commercial or used for deliveries.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com