Barcelona will limit access to vehicles with a type B yellow environmental label

In a previous article we already gave you all the details about the limitations established in the low emissions zone (ZBE) that definitively entered into force on September 15.

In that case, it was limited access for the most polluting vehicles, without a label, to this ZBE that includes practically the entire city of Barcelona, except for the Rondas, the Zona Franca and the areas of Tibidabo, Les Planes and Vallvidrera. This limitation is only in force from Monday to Friday from 7 in the morning to 8 at night.

As we explained in that article, vehicles without an environmental label are the following:

• Petrol cars registered before January 2000 (Euro 3 standard)
• Diesel passenger cars registered before the Euro 4 standard (years 2005 and 2006)
• Motorcycles and mopeds registered before January 2003 (Euro 2 standard)

We also explain that for goods and people transport vehicles (N1,  ; N2, N3, M2 and M3) a moratorium was established that gave a few months to adapt to companies and the self-employed: until July 1, 2021, in the case of small trucks and coaches, or until January 1, 2022, in the case of buses and large coaches.

In case of driving through the ZBE with a vehicle that is prohibited from access, it carries penalties of up to 1,803 euros, so take this information into account.

Consult the rest of the details, exceptions and authorizations of a day of the limitation, already in force, since September 15, in our article Does the limitation of circulation affect you for the most polluting vehicles in Barcelona and other cities? .

The Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, the AMB, after the implementation of these limitations for the most polluting vehicles, plans to extend these limitations to vehicles labeled with the yellow B environmental label. In this way, the AMB continues with its crusade to reduce pollution in the city of Barcelona, which seriously affects the health of its citizens.

The date that has been set for this extension is January 2022, as stated in the Metropolitan Mobility Plan Urban 2019-2024. Although this date seems the most likely for its entry into force, it is not yet firm, since it must be approved by the different municipalities that are part of the so-called Low Emissions Zone (Barcelona, L'Hospitalet, Esplugues, Cornellà and Sant Adrià) .

The vehicles that will be affected by this limitation, those with type 
B environmental adhesive, are the following:

• Diesel vehicles registered between 2006 and 2013
< li>Petrol vehicles registered between 2000 and 2006

Currently, these vehicles account for a third of the vehicles in Barcelona, although it is expected that, in January 2022, when it would come into force, this percentage will have considerably reduced. In the same way that happened with the restriction of vehicles already in force, when it was announced in 2017, vehicles without a label accounted for 20%, and when it came into force in September 2020 they already accounted for only 3% of the total number of registered vehicles. in Barcelona.  

Most likely, for LEZ residents, this limitation will not apply until January 2024 and the January 2022 date will only apply to vehicles owned by non-residents within the zone.

It is also very likely that when these new limitations are approved, new moratoria will be established for the transport of goods and people, in the same way that they were established in the current limitations.

On the other hand, It is not ruled out that the criteria that determine which environmental label certain vehicles have are modified, and gasoline vehicles may be left out of these limitations, focusing the limitations only on diesel vehicles.

We remind you again that wearing the label is not mandatory and you cannot be fined for not wearing it. Although it is recommended, according to the authorities, to facilitate the control work.

In the event that your vehicle, due to its characteristics, must carry one of the available labels (B, C, ECO or ZERO) and you have not Once you have arrived, you can request it through the DGT website, at Post Offices or at your own trusted workshop, if it is associated with the Gremi de Tallers de Reparació d'Automòbils de Barcelona.