Polluting emissions are regulated in the metropolitan region with a stringent policy that restricts the circulation of the most polluting vehicles on the Barcelona ring roads. In view of the episodes of pollution, in 2017 the low-emissions zones on the ring roads were established, complemented by similar zones established locally. They are all part of the set of actions spearheaded by the Metropolitan Programme against Air Pollution.
Other initiatives to foster sustainable mobility were also undertaken, such as the Bicivia Project, a network comprised of nine major routes which connect the metropolitan area north to south and east to west. Forty-five percent of the planned 554 kilometres has been built, and the demand for parking in the Biciboxes has increased considerably in four years.
Projects which promote a modal change towards bicycles are awarded, and companies and individuals are receiving subsidies to purchase (electric) vehicles with zero emissions. In order to encourage greater use of public transport, the metropolitan administration has reached agreements with the municipalities and Rodalies de Catalunya (local trains) to promote new park-and-ride car parks, and a new technology platform has been launched to improve traffic planning and the use of regulated public spaces for vehicle parking with the Metropolitan parking platform, which includes the use of a mobile app to make it more user-friendly. The AMB is playing a more active role in developing mobility strategies after equipping itself with a Metropolitan Urban Mobility Plan, which sets the framework of reference on mobility in the 36 metropolitan municipalities.
Projects which promote a modal change towards bicycles are awarded, and companies and individuals are receiving subsidies to purchase (electric) vehicles with zero emissions. In order to encourage greater use of public transport, the metropolitan administration has reached agreements with the municipalities and Rodalies de Catalunya (local trains) to promote new park-and-ride car parks, and a new technology platform has been launched to improve traffic planning and the use of regulated public spaces for vehicle parking with the Metropolitan parking platform, which includes the use of a mobile app to make it more user-friendly. The AMB is playing a more active role in developing mobility strategies after equipping itself with a Metropolitan Urban Mobility Plan, which sets the framework of reference on mobility in the 36 metropolitan municipalities.
-
Sustainable mobility
In December 2017, the low-emissions zones of the Barcelona ring roads were launched, covering an area measuring more than 95 km2 which includes Barcelona, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Esplugues and Cornellà de Llobregat, where the circulation of the most polluting vehicles is being gradually restricted. With this resolute policy, part of the metropolitan region now has a low-emissions zone (LEZ), as the majority of European metropolitan areas do, in order to lower the use of the most polluting private vehicles.
-
Low-emissions zones on the ring roads
Thus, on 1 December 2017, during an episode of pollution, cars which had not been assigned an environmental sticker were not able to circulate within the LEZ on the ring roads Monday to Friday from 7 am to 8 pm, from the day after the episode was declared until the day when it was announced as over.
This restriction has gradually expanded over time. Starting on 1 December 2018, during an episode of pollution, cars, mopeds and motorcycles without a label from the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT), along with vans dating from before the Euro classification, were unable to circulate within the LEZ on the Barcelona ring roads.
Finally, starting on 1 January 2020, the ban on circulation will be permanent for all vehicles that do not have the DGT sticker, also Monday to Friday from 7 am to 8 pm. -
Local low-emissions zones
The AMB is coordinating the implementation of local low-emissions zones (urban LEZs, also known as "urban protected air zones" or UPAZs). In this case, the town halls define the areas where they plan to regulate access and circulation, especially urban centres and/or vulnerable environments.
To this end, the AMB has signed seven partnership agreements to expand the pilot local LEZs, and thanks to the implementation of the LEZs on the ring roads, two of the municipalities involved have expressed their desire to implement urban LEZs in their municipalities. All told, nine metropolitan municipalities have taken on the challenge of spearheading new policies to regulate access to and circulation in their urban environments in order to reform the public space and move towards more sustainable, cleaner mobility.
To date, four municipalities (Sant Cugat del Vallès, Sant Just Desvern, Cornellà de Llobregat and Sant Boi de Llobregat) have completed the preliminary work to implement the urban LEZs defined, and in the first half of 2019, two more municipalities (L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Santa Coloma de Gramenet) will complete the implementation of their own urban LEZs.
Action protocol for episodes of high NO2 and PM10 pollution
On 31 January 2017, the AMB's Metropolitan Council approved the Metropolitan Programme of Measures against Air Pollution, a striking package of cross-cutting measures aimed at considerably lowering the air pollution level. This programme is yet another step by the metropolitan administration to improve the air quality in the metropolitan area, which often exceeds the maximum concentration levels of suspended particles (PM2.5 and PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) established by the European Union and the WHO.
What stands out among all the measures is the inclusion of the first metropolitan protocol for action and communication in the event of episodes of high air pollution from NO2 and PM.
The most prominent measures in mobility, which can cause up to 80 % of air pollution, include restrictions on the circulation of the most polluting vehicles, those that do not have the DGT sticker, on the ring roads and its inner perimeter, and consequently the launch of the low-emissions zone on the Barcelona ring roads.
-
Low-emissions zones on the ring roads
-
Bicycles
Bicycles are increasingly used as a means of transport to get around the city and reach the workplace. The cities in the metropolitan area of Barcelona are focusing on the use of bicycles and supporting their use by creating support services, such as parking places and subsidies to purchase bicycles. Furthermore, electric bicycles are an easy, convenient alternative for getting to work and stopping the use of cars or motorcycles.
-
Bicivia Project
The Bicivia network is a bicycle-friendly metropolitan network whose goal is to connect the metropolitan area quickly, directly and safely from north to south and east to west, including all the urban nuclei and economic areas. The basic Bicivia network contains 9 main axes for bicycle-riding, four of them vertical (north to south) and five of them horizontal (east to west). The secondary network connects these basic networks with each other and with the entire metropolitan region. The basic and secondary Bicivia networks currently comprise a total of 554 km, around 45% of which has already been built.
-
Bicibox and e-Bicibox
The Bicibox safe parking service for privately-owned bicycles had 1,887 places available in 2018, 460 more than in late 2014, a 30 % increase. During the same period, the number of registered users went from 3,500 to 12, 150, a 245 % increase. Finally, the annual demand in terms of the number of bicycles parked went from 124,670 in 2014 to 321,190 in 2018, a 158 % increase in just four years.
The Bicibox service is expanding in 2019 with new functionalities in order to continue to promote the use of bicycles for everyday mobility.
This expansion, called the e-Bicibox, takes advantage of the benefits of these safe Bicibox parking places to offer citizens shared electric bicycles (as Bicing does in Barcelona, with both mechanical and electric bicycles). This service will be dealt with as a new fee (the e-Bicibox fee) which will require users to first register and pay an annual fee and then pay a fee per use (depending on the amount of time they use the bicycle).
-
Large-capacity Bicibox
The Bicibox safe parking service for privately-owned bicycles had 1,887 places available in 2018, 460 more than in late 2014, a 30 % increase. During the same period, the number of registered users went from 3,500 to 12, 150, a 245 % increase. Finally, the annual demand in terms of the number of bicycles parked went from 124,670 in 2014 to 321,190 in 2018, a 158% increase in just four years.
These increases confirm the Bicibox service as a metropolitan action that fosters the use of bicycles for everyday mobility.
However, in some cases the capacity provided by the Bicibox modules holding 7 and 14 bicycles is not enough to absorb the entire demand.
Therefore, efforts have been made to design different options with higher capacities in order to install them near railway stations and inside underground stations (and to this end, an agreement with TMB was signed), as well as in some ground-floor commercials.
All the large-capacity systems will operate with the same Bicibox touchless card. -
Biciempresa
Throughout 2019, the AMB has made a total of 90 bicycles available to metropolitan companies so that workers can use them for 6 months. This offer is based on the conviction that whoever tries an electric bicycle will find it to be an easy, convenient alternative for mobility to and from work and will stop using their cars or motorcycles. In 2017 and 2018, two pilot tests were conducted in the Pedrosa estate in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and the Pla estate in Sant Feliu de Llobregat.
-
AMBbici Service at work and AMBbici at school
The AMB has a fleet of 10 electric bicycles which are lent every 30 days to different workers to use in their commutes between home and work. All told, more than 80 AMB employees have tried them during the period May 2017 to December 2018. A mentor service is offered to encourage new users. The AMB also has 4 more electric bicycles included in its mobile fleet for job commutes.
During this mandate, we have provided training on how to ride a bicycle to a total of 400 students in the fourth and fifth years of primary school and the first year of secondary school from schools in different municipalities within the metropolitan area (Gavà, Cornellà de Llobregat, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Badalona, Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Cugat del Vallès). -
Bicimpuls prizes
In 2018, the Bicimpuls prizes were launched with the goal of promoting specific projects that push for a modal change towards bicycles, in relation to encouraging the use of bicycles to commute to work and school, promoting bicycles as tools of social insertion, using bicycles as a form of cultural expression and bicycle-related innovation. In the first edition of the prize, a total of 13 candidacies were submitted.
Bicimpuls prizes -
Bicivisme campaign
The Bicivisme campaign is a direct, positive informative campaign which communicates to citizens clear, simple messages with different recommendations for improving safety and peaceful coexistence with individuals who ride bicycles, scooters and other personal mobility vehicles.
-
Bicycle Blog and Ecology Programme
Since February 2017, the Bicycle Blog reports on the different bicycle-related activities taking place in the metropolitan area, regardless of whether they are promoted by the municipalities, entities or the AMB itself.
With the goal of lowering polluting emissions caused by urban goods distribution, since 2019 the AMB has been subsidising companies or individuals up to a maximum of 50% for the purchase of zero-emissions vehicles (freight bicycles, freight tricycles, electric motorcycles with a case for goods, and electric vans) up to a maximum of €15,000 per project.
Bicycle Blog -
Subsidies for purchasing electric bicycles
Every year since 2014, the AMB has financed the purchase of 1,000 electric bicycles by offering a €250 discount. Therefore, by now it has subsidised the purchase of 5,000 electric bicycles in the metropolitan area.
-
Bicivia Project
-
Presidency of the Network of Cities for Bicycles
From the last quarter of 2015 to 2019, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area has presided over the Network of Cities for Bicycles (RCxB), an association of cities and regions whose goal is to make cities 100 % bicycle-friendly so citizens can reach any point in them safely and directly.
At the start of 2015, the network had 65 members, while by early 2019 the number of members had risen to 116.
Network of Cities for Bicycles (RCxB) -
Metropolitan P+R car parks
The AMB's Directorate of Mobility and Transport seeks to articulate a hierarchical system of nodes structuring transport which encourages the switch from private vehicles and public transport. For this reason, its strategy is based on three avenues of action framed within an overall proposal to improve the metropolitan park and ride car parks:
- Setting aside the car parks near stations for users of public transport.
- Expanding the current capacity of the car parks.
- Urban improvement and refurbishment actions.
The AMB signed partnership agreements with both town halls in which they agreed to set aside a total of 140 parking places in spaces near the local train stations and to have these carparks watched over by municipal guards.
Also as part of these agreements, horizontal and vertical signs will be installed, along with an informative post, and an information campaign will be launched geared at spreading the word about the service to regular users of these parking areas.
The parking system is associated with public transport users via a technology system developed by AMB Informació. It consists in the Metropolitan Park and Ride Car Parks (P+R) app, which enables users to register and interact with the P+R system, along with a machine to check tickets located in the corresponding local train stations, thanks to the agreement signed with Renfe – Rodalies de Catalunya.
The use of public transport enables users to leave their cars for up to 24 hours free of charge in the P+R zone from Monday to Friday 5 am to 11 pm. On the remaining days and times, the carpark is free for all users. -
Network of charging stations for electric vehicles
In late 2015, the first two charging stations were opened in El Prat and Cornellà de Llobregat by virtue of a partnership agreement signed between the manufacturers of electric vehicles, the Barcelona Town Hall and the AMB. These two charging stations were the first of the ten that the AMB plans to install, as provided for in the agreement. In parallel, the Barcelona Town Hall has installed 20 quick charging stations with similar features within the city.
The AMB's remaining charging stations, for a total of ten, were gradually installed in Gavà, Sant Joan Despí, Badalona, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Pallejà, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barberà del Vallès and Montcada i Reixac. The network of ten AMB charging stations was completed in late 2017.
In 2018, the mean monthly increase in the energy demand at the AMB's charging stations was 3.8 %.
-
Metropolitan parking platform
The objective of this project is to launch the operation of a technology platform that improves the organisation of traffic and the use of the public spaces regulated for vehicle parking throughout the entire metropolitan area of Barcelona.
The project expands the sphere of application of the parking platform created and managed by B:SM, which is currently used in Barcelona and all the municipalities in the metropolitan area via a partnership with the public company AMB Informació i Serveis, S.A., in order to enable the town halls that voluntarily adhere to it to use the new metropolitan platform.
The implementation of this platform will entail the introduction of a new method of payment in the regulated parking zones which will enable users to manage the entire process via their mobile phones in a quick, easy way via an app and thus avoid having to find the parking metre each time they park once the time has expired. The app will also allow them to check the amount of time they have consumed while parked, and it will remind users of the exact location where they parked their vehicles.-
Harmonisation of metropolitan municipal ordinances
The Barcelona Metropolitan Area currently holds no municipal authorities over regulating and managing the circulation of vehicles and pedestrians, regulated parking, park and ride car parks or the promotion of electric vehicles. In this sense, for years the AMB has been working to define recommendations in order to both add new elements to the municipal ordinances and harmonise their content, with the goal of developing a common strategy throughout the entire metropolitan area.
-
Harmonisation of metropolitan municipal ordinances
-
Metropolitan Urban Mobility Plan (PMMU)
In Catalonia, Law 9/2003 on Mobility, dated 13 June 2003, has become the framework of reference in terms of planning and managing mobility.
Additionally, the metropolitan area of Barcelona is affected by Decree 226/2006 on the declaration of different municipalities within the counties of Barcelonès, Vallès Oriental, Vallès Occidental and Baix Llobregat as special air protection zones (ZPEs).
However, it should be borne in mind that the territory of the metropolitan area of Barcelona is an intermediate space between this local or municipal sphere and the functional regional sphere of the Barcelona metropolitan region (RMB), with extremely high mobility relations.
Within this context, with Law 31/2010, dated 3 August 2010, on the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, this administration would come to play a more active role in developing a political strategy on mobility. Likewise, the development of a new instrument contained in this law, called the Metropolitan Urban Mobility Plan (PMMU), got underway. This new instrument establishes the framework of reference in supramunicipal mobility for the 36 metropolitan municipalities; it expands or outlines the contents of the Mobility Steering Plan (PDM) in this region; and it establishes criteria and guidelines for the development of municipal urban mobility plans.
Phase 1 took place between 2013 and 2015. In this phase, the strong points and main dysfunctions of the current metropolitan mobility system were determined. Likewise, the objectives and first strategic avenues of the Plan were defined.
In late 2017, development of the projects in Phase 2 of the plan got underway (scenarios and proposals). The objectives of this phase are:- To define the likely mobility scenario and to assess the environmental and social impacts forecast for this scenario.
- To define the target mobility model and to evaluate the alternative potential scenarios. Different scenarios were developed, each of which will be comprised of different initiatives, and the scenario that best fits the objectives of the Plan will have to be chosen.
-
The Plan's proposal
The PMMU's proposal was organised into 6 strategic axes, 29 strategic avenues and 103 measures. The strategic axes and avenues described below explain the measures of the Plan within a vision which will serve as a reference in the development of the metropolitan mobility policies in the forthcoming years. Metropolitan Urban Mobility Plan (PMMU)