Thanks to Madrid’s Plan A, the fight against pollution in this great city continues to make progress. For now, it is in the information phase and 472 hectares have already been closed to traffic in the city centre.
The City Council of Madrid has implemented this plan with a series of measures, such as the anti-pollution protocol, which limits the circulation of the oldest vehicles, which are the most polluting, around Madrid.
If you are not a resident you can access with an environmental label and you must use public parking spaces.
This plan has the short-term goals of improving the city’s air quality and traffic. In the long term, with these measures, a structural change will be made. In this way, electric mobility, the development of renewable energies, urban regeneration and renewal of the vehicle base will be strengthened. Ensuring safety and reaching the values recommended by the WHO for public health.
Other great European cities have already taken these measures before, for public health reasons and environmental conservation. And in many of them a toll has to be paid to circulate in the city centre. Thanks to this regulation, air quality and people’s health are improved.
This measure in Madrid city centre is led by the European Commission, with the initiative of Manuela Carmena, and it is expected to reduce the emissions of pollutants in the entire area by at least 40%.
Madrid’s Plan A measure came into force on 10 December. The limitations of this plan affect vehicles, including mopeds and motorcycles, that do not have an environmental mark. Driving on the M30 or through the city centre’s streets is not permitted.
This limitation is from 06:30 to 22:00. In addition, the car parks in the area may only be used by residents and by Eco or zero-emission vehicles.
The speed limit will be 70 kilometres per hour in all accesses to the city.
There are a couple of exceptions for workers who come to work early in the morning. The anti-pollution protocol allows the vehicles of professionals who start or finish work between 00:00 and 06:30, and that are accredited with an employer’s certificate, to circulate on the M30.
For mopeds and motorcycles, the limitations are the same as cars, but there are no restrictions on parking.
Hybrid vehicles with a zero-emissions label are not subject to any restrictions. On the other hand, commercial vehicles with labels C and B can park in the SER zone until 31 December, 2020.
In addition, all vehicles adapted to transport people with reduced mobility, rescue, civil protection, cleaning services, radio or television stations, security forces, cranes or funeral services may travel on the M30.
Lorries used to distribute merchandise with a maximum mass equal to or less than 3,500 Kilos may circulate until 31 December, 2019. Lorries exceeding 3,500 kilos can do so until 31 December, 2022.
If you drive on the M30 without a badge, the Department of Air Quality can fine you, but the amount of the penalty is not very clear. Some media outlets have reported that penalties may range between 45 and 90 euros. In the event of a serious infraction, for not respecting the restrictions on days with high levels of contamination, the fine could be between 100 and 1,001 euros.
Madrid City Centre and all the measures of Madrid’s Plan A for air quality and climate change aim to reduce polluting emissions in the centre of Madrid by 40%. In this way, air quality will improve with the measures imposed in the coming years. On the other hand, it encourages the progressive change of the vehicles that travel through the city, giving the city centre its health back.
