Ministry moots imposing congestion charge on Madrid

The Environment Ministry appears to have come up with an idea to combat the serious pollution problem suffered by Madrid, which has reached such severe levels that the city's environment chief, Ana Botella, had to announce recently that the city was regularly exceeding legal limits and would have to call for a European Union moratorium.

According to information posted on its website, the ministry is planning on forcing Madrid City Hall to introduce a congestion charge.

The document, which was accidentally posted on the site before its content had been agreed upon with the regions, also includes plans to limit the top speed of vehicles on peripheral ring roads and highways to 80km/h at peak times, as well as banning the highest-polluting vehicles from certain areas of the city.

The proposals included in the document, which the Environment Ministry has described as a "draft," go much further than the measures that Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón has announced to combat the air-quality problem in the city. Some, however, had been discussed by the council and not implemented. But others fly right in the face of Gallardón's plans.

Speed limits

Meanwhile, the government is due on Friday to decide whether or not to abolish the 110km/h speed limit it introduced earlier in the year in an effort to reduce oil consumption, given the threat to the supply presented by the uprisings of the so-called "Arab spring."

According to Industry Minister Miguel Sebastián, the measure has saved the country around 200 million euros. It has, however, proved an unpopular initiative with the public.