By Adam Woodward •
Published: 30 Nov 2024 • 20:50
• 2 minutes read
Watch out if you are driving into Malaga from a town outside. The Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in Malaga has just come into effect, following a year of procedures and processes.
Malaga city council reckons it will collect just under €12 million a year in fines beginning in 2025, initially eliminating approximately 26 percent of road traffic. Malaga is one of the provinces in Spain that has the oldest cars and therefore not permitted to enter LEZs. The average age of a motor vehicle in the province is almost 15 years old.
Banned vehicles not allowed in, with some exceptions
In the first year, there will be no fines for Malaga city drivers who pay road tax in Malaga city itself, only older vehicles from elsewhere. The first five years will see regular public transport of passengers, taxis, VTC, historic vehicles, and lorries allowed to circulate through the LEZ. So, just remember that when you are stuck behind a diesel bus chugging out thick black smoke with a handful of passengers on board. Delivery vans will be allowed to circulate freely during the first four years, while those from outside the province will be banned altogether. Medical, police, and other vehicles are exempt from the rules.
A vehicle needs to have a sticker similar to this one to avoid fines in the centre of Malaga.
Credit: Ayuntamiento de Málaga.
Most drivers who will receive fines are from towns outside of city.
The medium-term objective of Malaga City Council is to reduce traffic by about 26,000 vehicles per day, with revenues from fines estimated to rise to €11.4 million in 2025. The latest studies record 206,000 accesses to the LEZ, with 24 percent of cars coming from the Greater Malaga area and a similar percentage not having an environmental label in the windshield. The origin of vehicles from outside the city are mostly from Torremolinos and Costa del Sol, both Alhaurines, Axarquía, Rincón de la Victoria, Las Pedrizas, and Cártama.
LEZ is not an initiative started by the City of Malaga Council but by central government and applicable to all cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. The new legislation also includes the obligation to wear helmets on electric scooters and changes the speed limit according to a national framework.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our
Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Passionate about music, food and the arts. After being completely immersed in the Spanish way of life for 25 years, I now share my knowhow and experience with you.
Leave a comment Cancel reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Known as the PEOPLE’S PAPER, Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain. And it’s FREE!
Covering the Almeria, Axarquia, Costa Blanca North, Costa Blanca South, Costa del Sol , Costa Calida, Mallorca and beyond, EWN supports and inspires the individuals, neighbourhoods, and communities we serve, by delivering news with a social conscience. Whether it’s local news in Spain, UK news or international stories, we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home.
With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month, EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain. The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close.
Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP), Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall). All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers. All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Close
