BARCELONA – Barcelona is working hard to reduce the presence of motor vehicles in the city. The latest proposed measure is to charge motorcyclists €45 a month for parking their motorbikes on the city’s pavements.
The Barcelona city council’s unbridled effort to collect taxes seems to know no bounds. Moreover, now the idea is to introduce a new tax aimed at motorcyclists in the city. For €45 a month, they will be allowed to park their motorbikes on the pavement. If nothing else changes, this new tax is likely to be introduced in January.
After car now also motorbike ‘banned’
So it is no longer just cars that are public enemy number one of Mayor Colau – a former activist – and her cabinet. Now it is motorbikes’ turn and all this, as always, under the guise of ecology and environment. To this end, they created the PMU (Barcelona Urban Mobility Plan) through which they want to literally eliminate vehicular traffic in Barcelona.
According to newspaper El Debate, the city council wants to reduce car traffic in the city by 20% by 2024. And, therefore, encourage travel by public transport, bicycle or on foot. According to figures, they hope that by 2024;
- 7.5% of the population will travel on foot
- 16% by public transport
- up to 66% by bicycle
To this end, they have come up with as many as 300 traffic management measures to lobby for the success of their goal.
Not yet final
However, all this is currently at the stage of rumour.Aalthough given the most recent precedents in this area, it is very likely the tax will be introduced. There are also some stand-alone measures, such as the reduction of the speed limit to 30 km/h throughout the city. Until now, it was only in force in certain areas. The second is to charge motorcyclists parking on Barcelona pavements the aforementioned €45 fee.
What is the real reason?
Currently, 84% of motorcyclists parking on Barcelona’s streets are illegally parked. The main reason is that the white zone for parking this type of vehicle has been drastically reduced in recent years. This seems further evidence for the idea that this is all about collecting money, and that it matters little or nothing whether motorbikes are parked properly or poorly, or whether they contribute to a smoother flow of traffic.
Also read: Parking in Madrid is twice as expensive if air pollution is too high
