The deadline has passed for municipalities with more than 50.000 inhabitants to launch their Low Emission Zones or ZBE as specified in the Climate Change and Energy Transition Law that was published in the BOE (Official State Gazette) in May 2021 and which included San Bartolomé de Tirajana. For now, the rent a car companies have been the ones that have sighed. The main reason is found in the lack of a Royal Decree that specifies the characteristics and requirements that these ZBE must meet. Despite the voices calling for a moratorium, among them that of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), the Government has been against it, reports Cars.net
Even so, from the RACE Foundation they insist that a moratorium like in the South of Gran Canaria would be well received by drivers "since it would help not only the homogeneity and application of the regulations in the cities, but also to expand knowledge of the measures to apply. In this way, citizens only perceive impositions and regulations accompanied by economic burdens that make a vehicle become a luxury item for many drivers,” explains its spokesperson, Nuria Alonso.
From the RACE they are in favor of policies that improve the environment but as long as they are carried out with citizens and road users in mind. “We regret that mobility continues to be associated with a public health problem, and that decisions are made that harm non-resident drivers of the ZBE, establishing excessively severe restrictions on the mobility of private vehicles. The Administration delegates direct responsibility to the user for this problem, and does not contemplate preventive plans or alternative solutions,” they say.
