The data update of the labels detected in the low emission zone (ZBE) indicates that in Barcelona there are now more Eco cars than yellow (B). They are one in four cars, 24.7%, while the second badge represents 18.1%, according to September data. These figures are, in the opinion of the mayor Jaume Collboni's government, the demonstration that the entry restriction of the most polluting vehicles, which began in January 2020, is working, since it has meant a modernization of the vehicle fleet and, in the end, a reduction in pollution.
The most numerous passenger cars continue to be those with a green label (C), which represent a little more than half – 52% – of those traveling in the ZBE. Those with zero badges (electric ones) are 4% and those without environmental identification, the most polluting, prohibited except for exceptions in the restricted area (which is more or less what the rounds delimit), they stand at residual figures of 1.2%.
"We can now say with complete clarity that the ZBE has allowed us to have a cleaner park, that this policy is working, it is giving results", assessed yesterday Laia Bonet, first deputy mayor and head of the Mobility area, who specify that cars with the Eco label overtook those of the B in February. The evolution is very significant, he added, since in 2017 those with the yellow badge represented 40% and in the last year alone they have decreased by 3.2 points (while the Eco ones have grown by 4 points). The trend observed in passenger cars is similar to that of other vehicles (trucks, vans...), the councilwoman pointed out, although she did not provide figures on this matter.
Another aspect that the municipal government reads positively is that of the aging of the park, which, although it is getting worse, is doing so in Barcelona at a significantly lower rate than in Spain as a whole. According to data from the General Directorate of Traffic, the average age of vehicles registered in the Catalan capital has gone from 10.5 years in 2016 to 11.2 in 2022, while in the whole of Spain it has risen in the same period from 12 at 13.9 years.
That private traffic is less polluting has a direct effect, Bonet recalled, on air quality, the improvement of which is the objective of the ZBE. In this sense, he advanced that 2023 will be the first year to close with compliance with the European regulatory limits of 40 micrograms/m3 of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at all monitoring stations in the city on an annual average. "It's a very important figure, which tells us that we're on the right track", the councilwoman stressed, although she recalled that Europe plans to tighten the thresholds - by half by 2030 -, which she considered "good news" which obliges "to continue working to be prepared".
In this more demanding scenario, Bonet was asked about the possibility of banning vehicles with a yellow label, a measure that was considered a long time ago, but which has not been applied and about which Collboni himself has said that it will take time The deputy mayor did not want to comment. "I will not evaluate any specific measure without first having worked with the other administrations", he said with reference to the Generalitat, the Metropolitan Area and the affected councils, with which Barcelona shares a working table pending a meeting to evaluate the done and raise the future in the ZBE. "We don't want to go with pre-made announcements or a priori," concluded the councilwoman.
