At the moment, only offenders will be notified
Since the Madrid Low Emissions Zone (Madrid ZBE) came into force on January 1, 30,855 informative letters have been sent to offending drivers specifying the reasons and the penalty they would have had to pay. And we say ‘would have’ because the first two months were only warning for the infractions captured by the traffic cameras. The city council would start issuing fines from today, March 1, but has decided to extend this notice period ‘without fines’ for Madrid ZBE until May 1. This area includes the interior of the M-30 highway (excluding the M-30 itself).
The reason for this increase in the notice period is to offer greater legal certainty to citizens and avoid errors due to the latest vehicle registration changes made in December.
With the approval of the Sustainable Mobility Ordinance, on September 14, in which the new low emission zones (ZBE) are regulated, a new calendar has been established with access restrictions for vehicles that do not have an environmental label and new measures to improve the environment and safety on the streets of the capital.
This new ordinance has settled the formal defects of Madrid Central that the former mayor Manuela Carmena launched and that was finally annulled by the Supreme Court last May. New measures and restrictions are coming for citizens who circulate in Madrid that are included in the Madrid 360 Environmental Sustainability Strategy and that will allow the capital to progressively become the largest ZBE in Europe in 2024.
We also recall that the Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition, approved last May in the Congress of Deputies, requires all cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants to have low emission zones before 2023.
The notice period is extended until May
The ZBE will be the tool that will have the greatest impact on the reduction of polluting emissions from road traffic and that will most effectively allow compliance with European emissions regulations. How does it affect cars?
The start-up of the different low-emission zones will be done progressively, through video surveillance systems, and with an information period in which there will be no automatic sanction for alleged offenders. In the case of Madrid ZBE, in force since January 1, this notice period, initially two months, will be extended until May 1. From this day on, the fine will have to be paid when the infraction is captured by the surveillance cameras. It must be taken into account that since the entry into force of the Madrid ZBE, traffic agents who intercept a driver who does not comply with the restrictions will be sanctioned with a fine included.
This video from the Madrid City Council clearly explains the restrictions in the different ZBEs in force in the capital:
What fine is paid for breaching the restrictions?
In the amount of the fine we also find novelties. With the current Traffic Law, accessing a low emission zone is not allowed as a minor infraction and entails the payment of 90 euros (45 euros if prompt payment is chosen). But, attention! With the entry into force of the new Law on Traffic, Motor Circulation and Road Safety from March 21, it will be considered a serious offense and the offender will have to pay 200 euros (100 euros if it is for prompt payment).
The environmental labels will be used as a criterion for access, in addition the measures for merchants and residents are equated.
In addition to the Madrid ZBE, two other Special Protection Low Emission Zones (ZBEDEP) are in force: ZBEDEP Distrito Centro and ZBEDEP Plaza Elíptica. In both cases, access to vehicles without an environmental label (or also known as ‘Label A’) is prohibited: diesel vehicles registered before 2006 or gasoline vehicles registered before 2000. In addition, vehicles with labels B and C can only access if they are going to park in a public car park or by invitation. The fine is already effective in both areas and entails the payment of 90 euros until March 20. As of March 21, the fine amounts to 200 euros.
Calendar of restrictions to enter Madrid
According to the new Sustainable Mobility Ordinance, this is the calendar of prohibitions for vehicles without a label (also called ‘label A’). It will first affect passenger cars not domiciled in the capital and only from 2025 will it be extended to those domiciled in the Madrid City Council and also to other types of vehicles (trucks, vans, motorcycles and mopeds).
• Since January 1, 2022, vehicles A (without a label) cannot access or circulate inside the M-30, the M-30 itself is excluded, through which they will be able to circulate. The fines will begin to be issued from May 1, 2022.
• As of January 1, 2023, the prohibition is extended to the M-30 itself, which vehicles without a label will not be able to access or circulate on it.
• As of January 1, 2024, these A vehicles will also not be able to access or circulate on all urban public roads in the territorial area of Madrid ZBE.
• As of January 1, 2025, all prohibitions are extended to vehicles without a badge that are domiciled in the capital. From this date, vehicles A that are not passenger cars (trucks, vans, motorcycles and mopeds) and that until December 31, 2024 had no restrictions, will not be able to access or circulate through the capital.
Vehicles with B and C, Zero and ECO classification can enter, park and circulate without limitations (except those established by Madrid Central District for B and C). Until January 1, 2025, vehicles A intended for urban distribution of goods are exempt.
According to data from the city council, a vehicle without a badge emits on average for the municipality of Madrid 1.6 times more gases than a vehicle with environmental classification B; 7.2 times more than a vehicle with environmental classification C and 47 times more than a vehicle with environmental classification ECO. Of the 800,000 vehicles that enter the city of Madrid daily, 114,000 are without a label (14.25%), in addition, in 2019 there were 315,477 A vehicles registered in the capital, according to the DGT, these vehicles represent 18% of the routes .
Other measures of the new Municipal Ordinance
The new ordinance includes other measures to improve mobility, sustainability and safety, such as the obligation that on urban roads with two lanes in each direction, the one on the right becomes multimodal at 30 km/h, provided that the technical and safety circumstances allow it; the creation of a dynamic fee for SER regulated parking based on pollution in the area; intelligent loading and unloading reservations for freight vehicles; 45-minute rotation spaces in special areas or the extension from one meter to one and a half meters the distance that a cyclist must keep with respect to a passer-by and also from the facades, among other measures.
Through the Madrid360.es website, citizens can enter the number plate of their car and find out in a personalized way how access restrictions affect them.
