Low emission zones come into force in two towns south of Barcelona
Fines will be given to non-authorized vehicles between 7 am and 8 pm, Monday to Friday
El Prat de Llobregat and Gavà, two towns south of Barcelona, have started issuing fines to non-authorized vehicles driving within their low emission zones as of Monday.
Only non-polluting vehicles can drive in the towns on working days, from Monday to Friday, and between 7 am and 8 pm.
Vehicles without any of the Directoral Generate for Traffic office’s environmental stickers (blue, blue and green, green, and yellow) can ask for a temporary permit to drive in one of the cities without facing a fine.
While fines for cars and motorcycles started on Monday, sanctions for vans, trucks, and buses will only come into force in 2025.
Viladecans, a nearby town, will also start sanctions in the coming weeks, delaying after they were expected to start coinciding with El Prat and Gavà.
Sant Boi de Llobregat and Cerdanyola del Vallès will issue fines from January 1, 2025.
Sanctions can reach as high as €260 when pollution is particularly high, while they can be up to €200 on normal days.
All low emission zones in the Barcelona metropolitan area can be checked online, and each plate's environmental category can be found by using a search engine.
Barcelona cancels fines
The low emission zone (LEZ) was implemented in Barcelona on January 1, 2020.
The Catalan High Court annulled the LEZ regulations in March of 2022. They argued that there were not enough studies on the matter.
The court also ruled that the ordinance surpassed the council's jurisdiction, and there were some deficiencies in the types of vehicles excluded from entering Barcelona.
As such, Barcelona City Council canceled 140,000 fines given to drivers who entered the city's low emission zone with old and polluting cars.
The fines add up to approximately €20.1 million.