Madrid's SER Zone suspended due to coronavirus

The coronavirus crisis is seriously affecting Spain, which is why one of the extraordinary measures taken by Madrid City Council has been to suspend the SER Zone

For several days now, the coronavirus pandemic has swept across the whole national territory, leading to a situation that has had no precedent until now: the state of health emergency. The situation in Madrid is of particular concern, as the Spanish capital is the most affected, with the highest number of cases and deaths.

Therefore, it was necessary to adopt a series of extraordinary measures to try to mitigate this crisis in the best possible way. Among them, one of the most notable has been the suspension of the SER zone, that is, the Regulated Parking Service.

Public transport should be avoided as much as possible

The Community of Madrid has considered it much safer to make journeys in our own private vehicle than to use public transport, since the latter facilitates contact and, therefore, the spread of infection among a large number of users. Therefore, the capital’s City Council has wanted to facilitate car travel, although, yes, only when strictly necessary.

We remind you that the specific situations that allow us to leave the house and therefore take the car, are quite limited and can basically be summed up as buying food, medicines or basic necessities.

The smartphone applications associated with the Regulated Parking Service of the Community of Madrid have already notified this extraordinary measure by e-mail. For the time being, the period of time during which the SER zone will be inactive is unknown, although it will probably be the same as the duration of the national state of alarm.

Thanks to this measure, Madrid citizens who have an obligation to attend their workplaces and who cannot do so remotely will find it easier to do so in their private vehicles.

One of the aspects where the quarantine has been most noticeable is traffic, so those who are obliged to take the car will not have to suffer the usual traffic of the capital.

The suspension of the SER Zone has not been the only measure

Suspending the SER Zone has not been the only measure taken by Madrid’s government team. Another initiative has been to suspend the Bicimad shared bicycle service in line with the recommendations of the health authorities.

Of course, one of the mobility sectors where the risk of contagion is highest is the carsharing services. In this way, specialised companies such as Wible have increased the frequency of cleaning their vehicles. Despite this, we leave you our tips to avoid infection if you are a carsharing user.

Another of the measures required by the coronavirus crisis was the one adopted a few days ago by the Traffic Guard Civil (Guardia Civil de Tráfico). It has been forced to reduce alcohol and drug checks to avoid putting its officers’ safety at risk.

The suspension of the SER Zone in Madrid should only benefit those who need to take the car for any of the reasons mentioned above. Otherwise, the most important thing is that you stay at home, because with everyone’s cooperation, we will get out of this delicate situation as soon as possible.