The Valencia City Council will soon distribute free transport tickets to travel in EMT for the owners of the oldest and most polluting vehicles in the city, within the regulations governing the Low Emission Zones (ZBE).
Specifically, vehicles from outside the province without a label registered before 2001 (gasoline) or 2006 (diesel) will no longer be allowed to circulate in the city at the end of this year. Those from the province will be banned by the end of 2026.
That is why the EMT will launch a season ticket focused on this sector of the population that will be affected by the restrictions on the most polluting cars between 2025 and 2028. According to the consistory, this is a sector of users with lower economic resources, who are those who tend to own older vehicles.
The titles, still under study, will be valid for a period of two years or until the beneficiary acquires a suitable vehicle within that period.
Once approved, the title is expected to be extended to the different sectors affected according to the implementation schedule of the ZBE zone.
What the ZBE will look like in Valencia
According to the latest draft, the ZBE enforcement schedule will begin with an information phase from its entry into force until November 30, 2025, during which advance notice will be given to vehicles affected by the restrictions.
From December 1, 2025, the sanctioning phase will begin, first affecting the most polluting vehicles registered outside the province of Valencia, a measure that will be maintained throughout the year 2026.
Subsequently, on January 1, 2027, the penalty will be extended to vehicles registered in the province of Valencia, excluding those registered in the city of Valencia.
On January 1, 2028, the restriction will be extended to any vehicle entering the municipality.
In addition, a moratorium will be applied in the sanctioning phase for certain vehicles, such as those from the municipalities affected by the dana of October 29, 2024, which will be exempt from sanctions until December 31, 2027, as well as vehicles from the pedanías of Valencia, which will have an additional extension until December 31, 2028.
The initially projected perimeter, which included neighborhoods such as Marítim or San Marcelino, will also be modified.
According to the Councilor for Mobility, Jesús Carbonell, the new ZBE has been planned around the “perimeter ring of the city’s ring roads to ensure that the city can be circumvented without accessing it. It has also been taken into account that most of the reference hospitals are outside the perimeter (La Fe, General Hospital…)”.