From January 1, 2023, 149 municipalities in our country have the obligation to establish Low Emission Zones (ZBE), preventing the entry of highly polluting vehicles with the aim of "achieving a local reduction of pollutant emissions harmful to human health or greenhouse gases from combustion vehicles”.
This measure, born in Sweden and aligned with other urban mobility initiatives in the main countries of the European Union, seeks to ensure that cities have better air quality, especially in those areas with the highest pollution rates so far.
These ZBEs, together with other measures such as congestion or pollution tolls, can encourage changes in the mobility habits of citizens and tourists. When a person decides to move in a specific way, they do so because the benefits linked to the activity they will carry out outweigh the costs of travel, in economic terms, in terms of comfort and travel time.
All these activities have benefits, such as their positive impact on the economy, but they also generate negative externalities, such as the emissions of polluting gases and particles that contribute to climate change and worsen urban air quality. And the fact is that the transport sector was responsible for the emission of 84.6 million tonnes of CO2 in Spain, according to SEO BirdLife data.
One of the most efficient tools is collective public transport. Its use significantly reduces the level of use of the private car and other means of private transport. The use of the bus or the metro presents important advantages, such as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions or a significant reduction in the noise generated by traffic, in addition to the reduction of minor or more serious accidents. Last year, the number of travelers who used public transport exceeded 4,369.2 million according to INE data, which represented an increase of 28.8% compared to the previous period.
Even so, we are far from the use of private vehicles remaining exclusively for residual journeys within cities. A recent study by the Economic Policy Center of EsadeEcPol concluded, based on the volume of urban traffic in Madrid, that the public transport subsidy did not succeed in reducing the use of the car, not even in the most expensive months of fuels
And why is that? The aforementioned analysis, in line with other research, reveals that, more than the cost, the majority concern of those who use private transport over the public is its inefficiency in terms of journey duration or incidents. In view of these results, it seems necessary for public transport to adapt to the needs of a greater volume of citizens, as it is the backbone of urban mobility.
Other relevant elements that complement this backbone are discretionary public transport tools, taxis and VTC, which increase the capillarity of collective public transport services and play an important role in the field of sustainable urban mobility. The recent report "The role of VTCs and taxis in the implementation and extension of Low Emission Zones" shows that these services are undoubtedly necessary to achieve a lower demand for privately owned vehicles and contribute to a better composition of traffic, reducing the use of the private car.
In addition, they also present individual advantages, as they achieve a more efficient match between supply and demand, thanks to digital platforms, which cover underutilized itineraries reaching that "last mile" or which allow people to travel who, for various reasons, find it difficult difficult to access public transport.
How will the imminent implementation of ZBEs affect mobility in Spanish cities? In view of the aforementioned analyses, we can confirm that collective public transport will continue to be fundamental for cities and public shared mobility services will play an important role in offering efficient journeys with low levels of emissions. Recent estimates, such as the one published in 2020 by the journal Nature, show that taxis and VTCs emit between 40 and 90% less than conventional vehicles, since these services are performed with fleets of cars that emit less because they are hybrids or electric
Never in history had so many mobility solutions coexisted. There are also no precedents for cities as large, dynamic and prosperous as the current ones, or for a greater awareness of the need to act with the object of sustainability and respect for the environment. Along these lines, Janette Sadik-Khan, former transportation commissioner of New York City, stated in a recent interview that sustainable mobility is a solid strategy for economic development. For this reason, adapting the transport options to the pace and needs of the new cities will be the only way towards urban sustainability.
XAVIER FAGEDA, MARC TARRÉS, doctors in Economics and Law, respectively, researchers at the University of Barcelona
