Barcelona will fine vehicles without a DGT label

Barcelona City Council has presented a new ordinance establishing fines of up to €1,800 for vehicles without a DGT label.

On January 1, 2020, the low-emission zone in Barcelona will come into force, so the measures for driving in this zone are going to become stricter. Consequently, administrative penalties will apply to the most polluting vehicles.

Barcelona will fine vehicles without a DGT label from €200 up to €1,800 that drive within the low-emission zone. Penalties will begin from April of next year, although there will be a one-year moratorium for vans and trucks used professionally so that companies can adapt to this new regulation.

This recently presented proposal will be approved at the December plenary session of the City Council and in the other affected municipalities: L’Hospitalet, Cornellà de Llobregat, Sant Adrià de Besòs and Esplugues de Llobregat.

Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona, has stated: “This is a paradigm shift in mobility, a turning point that marks a before and after, but above all a political will.”

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What does the new ordinance propose?

1. Restriction of polluting vehicles – without a DGT label – from Monday to Friday, 7:00 to 20:00.
2. Exemptions for vehicles used to transport people with reduced mobility or for essential services – doctors, firefighters, police.
3. A 10-day period to apply for authorisation when entering with a foreign vehicle that lacks a DGT label but meets the pollution requirements to drive within the low-emission zone.
4. A one-year moratorium for professional vehicles. Specifically, for categories N1, N2 and N3 – goods transport such as vans and trucks – and M2 and M3 – passenger transport with more than eight seats.
5. Fines of €200 to €499 for category L vehicles – motorcycles –, M1 vehicles – up to eight seats – and N1 vehicles – goods transport vehicles with a maximum mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes.
6. Penalties of €500 to €999 for category M2 and M3 vehicles – vehicles with more than eight seats –, and N2 and N3 vehicles – goods transport vehicles with a maximum mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes.
7. Fines of up to €1,803 for the most polluting vehicles driving when an air pollution episode has been declared.
8. Penalties may be increased by 30% if the person fined is a repeat offender.

20 times the area of Madrid Central to reduce pollution by 30%

Implementing the low-emission zone in Barcelona will ban an estimated 50,000 vehicles from circulating. With this measure, Barcelona City Council aims to reduce pollution by 30%.

However, these restrictions will apply at set times: the most harmful vehicles to the environment will be prohibited from driving on weekdays between 7:00 and 20:00. Therefore, at night, at weekends and on public holidays, the circulation of this type of vehicle will be permitted.

The City Council will also make an exception for those who have a polluting vehicle but need to drive due to an urgent matter, such as going to the ITV (roadworthiness test) or a family commitment. To avoid being fined, they must register on a platform created by the City Council and will have 10 days from the approval of their application to enter during the restricted hours.

It should be said that the Barcelona low-emission zone covers an area of 95 square kilometres, that is, 20 times the surface area of Madrid Central. Ada Colau, Mayor of the county town, relies on the good results obtained in other major European cities such as London, Berlin, Amsterdam and Rome.