Attention: New low emission zones active
As of today, Rouen has a permanently valid low emission zone. It prohibits trucks and vans with stickers 4 and 5 as well as those without a sticker. In The Hague, too, the rules are being tightened. Cars and vans are now also affected. The area of the zone will also be almost doubled.
A lot is happening in the European low emission zones. France has planned seven new permanent low emission zones for this year. In Rouen, the ZFE will come into force as of today, 1 July 2021. It is located within the inner city ring and initially affects vans and trucks, i.e. vehicles of classes N1, N2 and N3 with stickers 4, 5 and those without a sticker. For diesel transporters, this means that vehicles with Euro standard 3 and worse are banned, and for trucks over 3.5 tonnes, Euro standard 4 is also taboo.
At the beginning of next year, the zone is to be extended to 16 municipalities in the city. In July of next year, exactly one year from now, all vehicle categories, including passenger cars, will be affected. In 2023, the rules will be tightened again. Then sticker 3 will also be banned.
Rouen is thus part of a large-scale tightening of the rules in major French cities. In the near future, more and more permanent low emission zones will be set up and their rules will be tightened more and more over the coming years. According to the law, all urban centres with more than 150,000 inhabitants will have to set up low emission zones in the next few years. France is setting the tone in Europe when it comes to banning old combustion cars.
In The Hague, the Netherlands, the rules for drivers are also becoming stricter. The previously applicable rules for trucks over 3.5 tonnes are now extended to cars and vans, i.e. M1 and N1 vehicles. The zone bans diesel vehicles with Euro standard 0 to 3 and is located within the ring roads S100 and S200. In addition to tightening the rules for lighter vehicles, this also nearly doubles the size of the zone. The city's second environmental zone, in which motorbikes or mopeds of class L1 and L2 (2-stroke) are no longer allowed to enter, remains unchanged.
Just as in France, the Netherlands is thus also opting for a significant tightening of the rules in the environmental zones. In addition to the general tightening of the rules, they are also targeting vans and trucks with combustion engines in the coming years. By 2025, only vans and trucks with alternative drive types are to be allowed in 14 environmental zones. Internal combustion engines for heavy vehicles will then be completely banned. So the Netherlands is also getting serious in the fight against the internal combustion engine.
As always, you can find out what will happen to the environmental zones in Europe in the future here.