So you can travel through Central Madrid with (and without) contamination, depending on the car you have | Society
Since the restrictions on traffic in Central Madrid came into effect three and a half months ago, the passage of vehicles has dropped by 25% on the Gran Vía, according to the City Council data. The number of passengers on buses of the EMT, in addition, has grown by 4.4%. Pollution was also reduced in this new area that limits road access to the center, as evidenced by the fact that the measurement station in Plaza del Carmen, the only one in the interior of the area, has marked 8.9% less pollution despite the unfavorable weather. The emissions of nitrogen dioxide, one of the major pollutants, decreased by 38% in December, while those of COtwo they fell by 14.2%, according to an estimate by the Polytechnic University. After the period of adaptation, of informative nature, in which no sanctions have been applied for breaching the regulations, from March 16, fines, of 90 euros, will enter into force for those who enter the area without permission.
This new area corresponds almost entirely to the downtown district, the heart of the city. A space that includes 4.72 square kilometers, with a perimeter of 10 kilometers, bounded on the east by the Prado and Recoletos promenades; to the north by Alberto Aguilera, Bilbao, Alonso Martínez and Colón; to the west by Princesa, Plaza de España, Bailén and Ronda de Segovia and to the south by Ronda de Toledo, Ambassadors and the rounds of Valencia and Atocha.
Access to this area of the capital, which includes such emblematic spaces as the Puerta del Sol, the Plaza Mayor, Gran Vía, Cibeles or the Plaza de Dos de Mayo, will depend on whether the driver of the vehicle is a resident, visitor, owner of a house or a parking space, among other cases and the type of environmental badge of your vehicle.
What label corresponds to your vehicle?
The DGT has established several categories that classify vehicles according to their environmental impact. Everyone must wear the badge assigned to move around the capital. Drivers can check the DGT website to know what category your car belongs to. Hybrids are classified as Eco and electric hybrids with a range of 40 kilometers are labeled Zero. Gasoline vehicles registered before 2000 and diesel before 2006 do not have a label. Gasoline manufactured between 2000 and 2006 and diesel from 2006 to 2013 corresponds to label B, while gasoline after 2006 and gas oil manufactured since 2014, label C.
The limitations of Central Madrid
The zero emission vehicles and the Eco, that is, the plug-in hybrids with autonomy less than 40 kilometers, the non-pluggable ones and those powered by natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas, can circulate in the Central Madrid area. Same as vehicles of people with reduced mobility and those of residents, whatever their environmental label. These have 20 authorizations per month for guest vehicles. Non-residents may do so provided they wear the environmental badge and park in one of the 18 public or mixed parking lots. Upon entering, a camera will register the license plate. Once in the parking lot, another will re-register and send the data to the City Council so that it is not fined. Gasoline vehicles prior to 2000 and diesel prior to 2006, that is, those without a label, of people who do not reside in Central Madrid, are therefore prohibited from entering the area.
Workers, students and their parents
The restrictions do not entail limitations in the daily activity of those who come to Central Madrid for academic, work or tourism reasons. Those responsible for children and primary school students who study in the area can access with their cars during the day (from 7 to 20 hours), high school students, or their managers, can also access if the needs of the student require it. Always by means of an authorization that the educational center must provide. Workers who reside outside Madrid Central but whose work center is located, need to have a parking space or leave the vehicle in one of the parkings authorized If the time of entry or exit from your job, however, is between 00:00 and 6:30 h. They have permission to access and park. Likewise, customers of hotels located in the area can access if they reserve a parking space in the establishment, as long as their vehicle is not zero emissions.
If a resident needs, for example, the installation of a network Wifi In your home, the telecommunications company will not have problems to access, park and perform the service. The same with the services of water, gas, electricity, medicines and health services. Homeowners not registered with vehicles B or C or can only access if they go to public parking, the same as hotel guests.
The public transport network offers many options to get there: 60 bus lines, six Metro lines, eight Cercanías lines and 57 BiciMad stations, as well as several companies that offer service carsharing Y motosharing. Thus, locals and tourists can make the most of this without the need for traffic jams, bad fumes and laps and turns to park.
How does the anti-pollution protocol work?
Madrid has a new anti-pollution protocol more restrictive than the previous one since December. The rules of Central Madrid, are subject to this protocol, which so far this year, has been activated several times. This regulation contemplates five scenarios (one more than the previous one) according to the levels of pollution in the air. It affects the traffic circulating on the M-30 and its interior, regardless of whether the drivers are neighbors or not, although there are exceptions: collective public transport, vehicles for people with reduced mobility, urban distribution of goods and essential services such as the toilets. The environmental label of the vehicle will be the one that indicates who can move around the capital during the episodes of contamination.
When is the protocol activated?
The protocol is launched when the critical levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO) are exceeded in urban air.two), a pollutant generated by road traffic and combustion heaters, among other sources, and when the forecasts of the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) do not foresee that pollution can be dissipated naturally. There are three levels (warning, warning and alert) that, depending on how they are activated, can produce five different scenarios.
Pre-warning level. It assumes that two stations measuring pollution, located in the same area, simultaneously exceed 180 μg / m3 (microns per cubic meter) of NOtwo for two consecutive hours, or three seasons for three hours in a row.
Warning level. It means that two stations in the same area exceed 200 μg / m3 for two consecutive hours, or three stations for three consecutive hours.
Alert level. It implies that three stations of the same area exceed, simultaneously, 400 μg / m3 during three consecutive hours.
The measures according to the level of alert
Scenario 1. It is activated when the pre-warning or warning level is reached during a working day.
Scenario 2 It occurs when two consecutive days the level of notice or one day the level of warning is reached.
Scenario 3 It applies if the advance notice level is exceeded for three consecutive days or the warning level is reached two consecutive days.
Scenario 4 It is activated when the warning levels are exceeded for four continuous days.
RESTRICTIONS OF THE ANTI-POLLUTION PROTOCOL OF MADRID ACCORDING TO TYPE OF VEHICLE
Vehicles with this badge can circulate freely.
Restrictions
All the scenarios
70 km / h on the M-30 and interurban road within the M-40
Vehicles with this badge can circulate freely.
Restrictions
Scenario 1, 2, 3 and 4
70 km / h on the M-30 and interurban road within the M-40
Alert scenario
70 km / h on the M-30 and interurban road within the M-40
Prohibited to park in zone (and time) SER
Restrictions
Scenario 1
70 km / h on the M-30 and interurban road within the M-40
Scenario 2, 3 and 4
70 km / h on the M-30 and interurban road within the M-40
Prohibited to park in zone (and time) SER
Alert scenario
Prohibited to circulate throughout the municipality
Restrictions
Scenario 1
70 km / h on the M-30 and interurban road within the M-40
Scenario 2 and 3
70 km / h on the M-30 and interurban road within the M-40
Prohibited to park in zone (and time) SER
Scenario 4 and alert
Prohibited to circulate throughout the municipality
Restrictions
Scenario 1
70 km / h on the M-30 and interurban road within the M-40
Scenario 2
Prohibited to circulate through and within the M-30
Scenario 3, 4 and alert
Prohibited to circulate throughout the municipality
Alert scenario. It is started when the alert level is exceeded for one day, that is, three stations in the same area surpass, simultaneously, 400 μg / m3 for three consecutive hours.
How far can I go with my vehicle?
Each scenario is more restrictive than the previous one. The limitations are accumulating. The maximum speed of traffic through the M-30 and the accesses to Madrid will be 70 kilometers per hour during episode 1. This measure is also in force in the rest of the scenarios. The most polluting vehicles, that is to say, those that do not have the environmental label of the DGT, will not be able to circulate on the M-30 and the interior of the central almond when stage 2 is reached. The B and C can not park in this zone.
Scenario 3 implies that no unmarked vehicle can move through the municipality. And, during scenario 4, vehicles with a B-label will not be able to circulate inside the M-30, nor through it.
The maximum level, the warning, requires to stay at home to vehicles without distinctive and those labeled B and C. The Eco, which includes plug-in hybrids with autonomy less than 40 kilometers and non-pluggable, may circulate but Do not park in the SER area in this scenario. The Zero, therefore, will be the only ones that can move freely throughout the municipality and park, during the alert periods.
