Madrid Central vs ZBE of Madrid, we look for the differences
It is common that when talking about the perimeters in which the capital has restricted vehicle access for environmental reasons, both names are used as synonyms. But is it correct? In other words, is Madrid Central the same as the ZBE area of Madrid?
In the following lines we clarify the differences between Madrid Central and the ZBE of Madrid. Spoiler: they do not coexist, the second replaces the first and gains in length and restrictions.
Central Madrid
Madrid Central is better known than the LEZs in Madrid because it arrived first. It was the great bet of the former mayor of Madrid between 2015 and 2019, Manuela Carmena.
Central Madrid was an area of 480 hectares that were prohibited for the most polluting vehicles. It covered almost the entire Centro district, coinciding with the ring roads and boulevards that surround the center of the city, but leaving some necessary streets open to traffic to regulate traffic.
Since November 2018, the circulation of vehicles without a DGT environmental badge has been prohibited, with exceptions. Electric and plug-in hybrid cars classified with the Zero Emissions sticker had free access and circulation.
Ls with an ECO label could access and park on the surface for a maximum of two hours. While vehicles with label C and label B could access only to park in a parking lot for public or private use.
Entering and leaving the ZBE Madrid Centro by mistake, is it a reason for a fine?
The LEZs of Madrid
We speak of Madrid Central in the past tense because with José Luis Martínez Almeida as mayor of the capital, the LEZs of Madrid have arrived. They are part of the Madrid 360 Plan, a more ambitious environmental strategy, approved in September 2021.
Unlike other cities, in Madrid they change their name and are called Special Protection Low Emission Zones (ZBEDEP). At the moment, there are two active ones, one in the downtown district and the other in Plaza Elíptica (image below).
Because it coincides almost to the millimeter in the streets that it delimits, the ZBEDEP Distrito Centro is the one that is confused with Madrid Central.
The restrictions that allow free circulation and parking for vehicles classified by the DGT as Zero Emissions and ECO and direct access to a parking lot for those with labels B and C are also almost identical. Vehicles A are excluded, with exceptions.
Madrid Central vs. Madrid 360
Madrid Central disappeared by court decision at the beginning of 2022. A European court then forced the Madrid City Council to lift all restrictions. It did, however, give a margin of two and a half months for its suspension, time that the council took advantage of to carry out the transition from Madrid Central to Madrid 360.
Madrid 360 is more ambitious and creates two LEZs in the city. ZBEDEP Distrito Centro replaces Madrid Central, which is why it has been renamed “the new Madrid Central” on many occasions. The ZBEDEP Plaza Elíptica is added, with fewer restrictions (cars labeled C and B have free access and circulation).
Madrid 360 also has a calendar that increases the restrictions on vehicles without a label:
- From 2022, all non-residents cannot enter the M-30
- On January 1, 2023, circulation on the M-30 is prohibited whether or not they are residents
- In 2024, non-resident cars without a label will not be able to access or circulate in the city and residents will not be able to enter the M-30
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2025 is the date set for the total ban on entry to Madrid
With the addition of the ZBEDEP Distrito Centro and Plaza Elítpica, the ZBE of Madrid is the largest in Europe, with 604 km.