UNIONS have urged Malaga officials to slam the brakes on the city’s low-emission zone after almost 12,000 drivers were hit with fines in less than two months.
Trade union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) blasted the scheme for causing ‘serious harm’ and even ‘discriminatory situations affecting different social groups’ as the council raked in a flood of penalties across December and January.
Now the union is throwing its weight behind a proposal from left-wing group Con Malaga to temporarily ease the rules – buying time for both the Partido Popular-run council and fed-up drivers to get to grips with the changes.
Con Malaga spokeswoman Toni Morillas said: “The PP-led government seems more focused on fines and raising revenue than on improving sustainable transport in the city or properly rolling out a low-emission zone with practical, effective measures.
“We are talking about like making it easier for workers to get to their jobs, providing park-and-ride options, or ensuring good public transport for people coming in from other parts of the province,” she added.
Under current rules for the Zona de Bajas Emisiones, registered Malaga residents can drive freely within the zone even without an environmental badge.
But those living outside the city limits face fines if caught by the network of cameras – a system critics say is hitting hardest those on lower incomes, who can’t afford to live in the centre but rely on their cars to get there for work.
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Malaga police said they detected 6.212 LEZ violations in December, followed by another 5499 in January.
The thousands of drivers caught out so far were behind the wheel of cars not registered in Malaga and without an environmental badge – typically older petrol vehicles from before 2000 and diesel models registered before 2006.
But the crackdown is only set to tighten in the future, with Malaga council reportedly planning to further restrict the number of non-resident vehicles allowed to enter.
Under the next phase, due to kick in by November 30, 2026, even cars with a ‘B’ badge – lower-emission petrol vehicles registered from 2001 and diesel from 2006 – will be banned from a staggering 437-hectare stretch of the city centre if they are not registered in Malaga.
Trinidad Salcedo, of Comisiones Obreras, said Malaga should first be equipped with a host of carparks lining the city limits, as well as a granular public transport system, before the ban is fully imposed – in what she stressed would ensure ‘social justice’ for those living on the outskirts.
“Málaga faces an added problem because of the housing crisis – people have effectively been pushed out of the city in recent years,” she said.
She pointed to the sheer scale of daily commuting, with around 193,000 people travelling into Malaga every day for work or study. Of those, roughly 31% are driving ‘B’ badge vehicles – meaning as many as 64,000 cars could soon be caught up in the restrictions.
“Many of these are workers, students, or people who have had to relocate from Malaga,” she added.
“But they still have to come back, and they were never given a real chance.”
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