Getting around Barcelona and its metropolitan area has become, in recent weeks, a kind of extreme sport or an exercise in infinite patience. What began as a series of isolated incidents on the Rodalies network has led to a situation of gridlock that has forced the City Council to take drastic measures. The most relevant for drivers is undoubtedly the temporary suspension of the Low Emission Zone(LEZ): as of today, vehicles without an environmental sticker will be able to drive around the city without fear of cameras or fines.
This decision, signed by Mayor Jaume Collboni at the request of the Catalan government, is exceptional and, most importantly, indefinite. The council has made it clear that the LEZ will remain suspended “sine die, “ or in other words, until the train service returns to normal, which at the moment seems a long way off. The aim is to offer a real alternative to the thousands of workers and students who have been left stranded on the platforms and who need private cars to keep to their schedules.
Which cars can enter Barcelona
In short, the suspension of the ZBE allows older vehicles, which are normally prohibited from entering, to enter Barcelona without being fined.
The vehicles that benefit are those that do not have a DGT environmental label (category A):
- Gasoline cars registered before 2000.
- Diesel cars registered before 2006.
- Motorcycles and mopeds registered before 2003.
The rest of the labels (B, C, Eco, and Zero) can continue to circulate as they did before, with the difference that they will no longer coexist only with “labeled” cars, but also with older vehicles for as long as the chaos in Rodalies lasts.
More eyes and help on the platforms
But the car is not the only escape route. Aware that the maze of transfers and shuttle buses can confuse even the most experienced, the City Council has decided to increase the number of information officers at key stations. From now on, a total of 24 people will be on hand to advise users on how to reach their destination using alternative Metro or bus routes.
This reinforcement will not only be maintained at key points such as Sants, Catalunya, and Passeig de Gràcia, but will also be extended to the Torre Baró and Sant Andreu stations , which are particularly affected by the rail strike. The teams will be operational during peak hours: from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in the morning and from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the afternoon.
The local police have also taken up positions. Fixed operations have been established at the major terminals and special attention is being paid to intercity bus hubs, such as Fabra i Puig and Avenida Diagonal, where passenger numbers have grown exponentially. While the Metro and TMB city buses are attempting to absorb the excess demand with relative normality , lines 62 and 96 have received extra reinforcement to ensure connections with the Meridiana and Montcada corridor.