article_detail

The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) in Spain is pushing forward with a drastic and highly controversial set of measures designed to cut down on traffic clogging up city streets, particularly in major urban centres like Madrid.

 

The headline proposal from the traffic authorities is enforcing a two-person minimum per car in big cities, taking a page from European HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane policies that have worked elsewhere.

 

But that's just the beginning of what could be a complete overhaul of how we think about driving in Spain.

This carpooling strategy is also accompanied by various proposals that are still under review, such as limiting households to just one car each and charging non-residents €1 per day to drive on certain Spanish roads. These radical ideas might sound strangely familiar, as some of them are already being tested out in the Balearic Islands.

 

 

The Balearic Islands are already leading the charge when it comes to tackling traffic congestion, especially during the summer tourist madness. Formentera and Ibiza are planning to hit non-resident drivers with a €1 daily fee, plus time restrictions and access controls to keep traffic manageable.

 

But Mallorca is going even further. The island is looking at implementing charges similar to those in Ibiza, but with much steeper prices. At the moment, they’re talking about fees ranging from €35 to €150 depending on how much your car pollutes. That's going to make people think twice about their driving habits.

 

Interestingly, the idea of limiting each household to just one car didn't actually come from the DGT. The Balearic government came up with this one themselves because they're genuinely worried about the sheer number of daily commutes. Under their plan, each household would only be allowed one registered vehicle, with exceptions for emergencies, people with mobility issues and long-term island residents.

 

The DGT's push for HOV lane usage is probably the most technically challenging part of all this. Pere Navarro's team is apparently studying how to use sensors or cameras to detect whether there are actually two or more people in a car, similar to systems already working in France.

 

The technology exists, but rolling it out across Spain's major cities is going to be a massive undertaking. Right now, it's all still in the planning stages and nobody's giving any concrete dates for when we might actually see these systems in action.

 

But if these measures do actually go ahead, driving in Spain is going to look very different. City drivers will need to start thinking about carpooling as a necessity rather than a choice, and tourists and non-residents will face new costs that could add up quickly over longer stays.

 

 

Image: Freepik