The Sustainable Mobility Law will be a reality in 2024. The Council of Ministers approved the bill on February 12, which is already in the parliamentary processing phase. The law will come into force this year to comply with the deadlines established with Brussels and thus avoid compromising the aid provided for in the Next Generation plans, as explained by the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente.
One of the most important aspects contemplated by the law refers to the possibility of city councils imposing urban tolls. This is a measure aimed at reducing traffic congestion and promoting the use of more sustainable means of transport, with the aim of reducing polluting emissions and improving air quality in urban areas.
Currently, the circulation of the most polluting vehicles through the center of cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants is already limited, as established in the Climate Change Law. This legislation requires that municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, as well as those with more than 20,000 that exceed certain pollution values, implement low emission zones (ZBE).
The Sustainable Mobility Law will allow municipalities to further tighten access to the center of their cities by imposing urban tolls as an additional measure to reduce pollution and promote emission-free mobility. As stated by the Government on the website where it establishes the master lines of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, the regulations contemplate advancing in the transformation “from the city of cars” to the “city of people”.
So far, no city council has commented on the possibility of establishing a toll to access the city center by private vehicle when the Sustainable Mobility Law comes into force. Some media suggest that Barcelona, ??which was a pioneer in the implementation of low-emission zones in 2020 when there was still no regulation that required it to do so, could repeat again and become the first Spanish city to require payment to access the center. from the city. But today the mayor’s office led by the socialist Jaume Collboni is not considering it.
The Ecology, Urban Planning and Mobility Area of ??Barcelona City Council has assured Moveo that the debate on a future urban toll is not on the table. These sources indicate that the position of the council, once the Sustainable Mobility Law has been approved by the Council of Ministers, is the same as what they maintained previously. That is, continue betting on low-emission areas and promote green areas. “This is our roadmap,” these sources specify.
The Barcelona city council’s plan collides head-on with the position held by various environmental associations, which have been demanding from 2022 the establishment of an urban toll to access the center of Barcelona. Through the Barcelona’22 campaign, the promoters of the platform propose the application of a toll of 4 euros for all citizens who access the city center by car, without making distinctions between the vehicle emissions levels.
The future law will also regulate innovative solutions to limit the circulation of private vehicles such as on-demand transportation and car sharing. In addition, companies with more than 500 workers must define a sustainable mobility plan within two years, thus promoting a change in habits towards more efficient and environmentally friendly forms of mobility in the workplace.