Malaga city council prepares legal report to determine future of Low Emission Zone

The recent ruling of the High Court of Justice of Andalucía (TSJA), which overturned one of the most controversial measures of the Low Emission Zone (ZBE) in Malaga, is currently undergoing legal analysis by the city council's legal department.

On Thursday, transport councillor Trinidad Hernández responded to questions from opposition groups at the sectoral meeting.

The regulations that the TSJA has challenged refer to the separation of residents of the city from those who come from the rest of the province. The latter can no longer enter the ZBE without the relevant environmental sticker.

Hernández said that they are still in the appeals process. The legal department is reviewing the text to prepare a report outlining the various possible solutions.

"Once we have the report and the alternatives, the mayor will announce the next steps. Right now, we are awaiting the legal department's analysis," the councillor said.

Meanwhile, the Low Emission Zone remains in effect and penalises unauthorised drivers.

Hernández also announced that, should the regulation require modifications, the city council will draft the articles that will need these changes to adapt to the TSJA ruling.

Deputy spokesperson for the Con Málaga municipal group Toni Morillas believes the city council should not appeal, but rather open the debate on the modification of the regulations and suspend sanctioning, so as not to cause more legal uncertainty.

She said that the city council's survey shows that the majority of Malaga residents consider the fines excessive and are largely opposed to the Low Emission Zone.

Furthermore, the city council has not implemented parallel improvements to public transport to compensate for the access restrictions imposed on many residents of the wider area.

Until now, cars registered in Malaga were exempt from fines in the Low Emission Zone. That will have to change in the coming months.

In the first two months, the ZBE fined 12,000 vehicles for unauthorised access. Currently, only cars and motorcycles without an environmental sticker that come from outside the city and pay their vehicle tax (IVTM) in another municipality receive fines.

From 30 November this year, the ban will extend to cars with a B sticker, although this is now uncertain. The fine is 200 euros or 100 euros for prompt payment. It does not result in penalty points deducted from the driving licence.

What remains unclear is the purpose of a potentially reformed regulation. In principle, it would be logical to exclude vehicles without an environmental sticker (the oldest ones) from the city of Malaga from the Low Emission Zone, eliminating the current disparity with the rest of the province.

This means that thousands of Malaga city residents would no longer be able to drive as they have been doing. However, this is merely a hypothesis, pending the final decision of the local government.

In other news, the city council said that the existing 61-kilometre network of bike lanes will soon expand by another eleven kilometres. Three of these routes, adding another two kilometres, will be put out to tender before the end of the year.

Furthermore, work continues on implementing a public bike-sharing system with 1,000 electric bicycles at 100 stations throughout the city, connected to the public transport network. The city will directly manage this service.

Finally, airport operator Aena representatives have reported that Malaga Airport will have an electric vehicle charging station in the medium term, the concession for which will be put out to tender at the end of the year, with the aim of having it operational between 2027 and 2028.

Read all news about the Low Emission Zone in Malaga