Today was the day. Madrid residents and all those people who, for whatever reason, must frequently access the city of Madrid by car will face the Madrid Central project , from the mayor Manuela Carmena, from today Friday, November 30 , with which it is intended to limit access to the center of Madrid in polluting vehicles. The objective? Improve air quality in the city and, consequently, contribute to the well-being of citizens.
Certainly it is a change that most define as 'historical' , because the truth is that there are no precedents in the city, which also, with these measures, becomes one of the standard bearers in the fight against pollution.
The measure, for the moment, has started in the information phase and basically consists of closing traffic in an area of 472 hectares in the center of the city. Circulation is limited to residents and public transportation vehicles. Of course, the former may enter the area if they have the famous environmental label and enter an apartment for public use. These measures are expected to reduce the emission of pollutants in the area by up to 40%, usually overloaded by excess traffic.
If you live in Madrid or need to eventually go to the city with your car, we recommend that you find out about everything that surrounds Madrid Central. To help you, we offer you a few tools that will be useful to you.
Can I drive around Madrid today?
A few days ago we told you that there was an application and web tool that allows you to know in an instant if that day you will be able to drive your vehicle around the city of Madrid or not. You can access the service's website or download the application, which will come in handy to see if you can circulate or not wherever you are. You should know, yes, that at the moment the app is only available for Android .
To obtain information on whether or not you can circulate, you will only have to enter the registration number of your vehicle. You will instantly know if you can drive your car into the center of Madrid or if it would be better if you leave it parked that day. You are sure to avoid a good fine.
Central Madrid, official information
Let us now go to the source. If you need information - and in that case it is always better to go to the official source - you can directly access the page inhabited by the Madrid City Council, in order to help citizens to know the details of this project called Madrid Central.
All we can indicate is that within this page concrete and detailed information is offered on the measures that are being carried out, as well as the details of the regulations that come into force as of November 30, 2018 .
In addition, a specific map of Central Madrid is included, with indications in red for the restricted area and codes for each of the capital's districts. This map can be downloaded in PDF format . In addition, the presence of police officers and mobility controls is also reported.
Within this same page a section of frequently asked questions and answers is included, from which to obtain information on, for example, the possibility of accessing the center of Madrid with diesel vehicles, the obligation to carry the DGT environmental badge or the possibility to move around the heart of the city by motorcycle. All the answers to your questions are here.
The DGT environmental badge
One issue that may concern vehicle drivers, whether they regularly circulate in Madrid or if they do so on a specific basis, is the obligation to carry or not the environmental label of the DGT. As it is a mandatory measure, it is important to be forewarned, to avoid having to face fines or sanctions from the city authorities.
If you need information in this regard, we recommend that you go directly to the website that the DGT has set up to inform citizens about this issue. All you have to do is enter your vehicle's license plate to obtain the environmental label that corresponds to you attached to the car.
Remember that these badges - the one that suits you in each case - can be purchased at post offices, authorized vehicle workshops and through administrative managers, who also have the power to print the labels prescribed by the DGT .
Get around by public transport
It is clear that if you have problems accessing the heart of the city of Madrid or if you are convinced that you can avoid the use of a polluting vehicle to go to work, university or shopping, the best thing you can do is use transport public. Luckily, Madrid has an important transport network, with which you can get around by train, metro, bus or even bicycle without any problem.
To see what options you have at your fingertips, we recommend you visit the website of the Madrid Transport Consortium (CTM), from which you have access to all available means of public transport . In addition, you have a good number of applications available to make your movements around the city more agile.
For example, the CTM has an application called Madrid Transport CRTM with which we can check in real time what are the public transport options that we have nearby, see information about stations, links and lines and know the next hours of passage. The tool is available for both iOS and Android.
Another interesting application is the one that allows you to read the balance of the Public Transport Card of the Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid (CRTM) . It is useful to sign in and make payments by mobile, to find recharging points and it adds up to moving much faster around the city. You can also download it for iOS and Android.
Getting around by metro: official app of the Madrid Metro
If you are one of those who usually move by metro, perhaps the application that will be most practical for you will be that of Metro de Madrid itself. This includes information on all lines, stations and routes , with updated maps with changes and incidents that may occur in the metro network. In addition, it also includes a tourist map, which will come in handy whether you want to rediscover your city or if you come back to Madrid. All moving in a more sustainable way in public transport. You can download the app for iOS and Android.