Camera surveillance: more controls, more fines?!
The cities of Barcelona (Spain) and Tilburg (Netherlands) are setting up optimised control systems in their low emission zones to catch vehicles in violation - with two similar but different monitoring methods.
As more and more low emission zones are introduced and regulations are tightened, the question often arises as to how cities can ensure that the new regulations are adhered to in their implementation. Camera surveillance systems often come into play - here some cities are already a step ahead of others.
In the Catalan city of Barcelona, 20 camera-based checkpoints are already active to regulate access to the environmental zone. But that is not enough for the city. Now the city wants to increase the number of locations where entry authorisation is checked. First, the checkpoints will be increased from 20 to 62. However, according to the public tender that the municipality completed for the measure, up to 110 new cameras will be installed over time. Through "artificial vision" - according to the Spanish authorities - "they will capture and identify the number plates of vehicles and finally compare them with the database of unregistered cars". In this way, Barcelona will have a comprehensive and unified system that will regulate traffic in the city as well as access roads - for example, bypassing ring roads. A major project that will cost the city almost 1.5 million euros.
A similar, but comparatively cheaper system is being introduced in the Netherlands, in Tilburg. This city, too, is planning to control access to the environmental zone more efficiently, where all diesel trucks in Euro classes 0 to 5 have been banned from driving since January this year. Unlike in Spain, however, this does not involve stationary cameras at monitoring points, but a mobile system. The access controls will be taken over by so-called scan cars, which are already on the road in the city centre to check the payment of parking fees. Under the new initiative, they will also be tasked with scanning the licence plates to check whether the vehicle concerned has entered the Low Emission Zone unlawfully. All other cars that are spared from the driving ban will have little to do with the scan cars. Their number plates will be recorded, but they are to be deleted again immediately after the check, so as not to violate the privacy of the citizens behind the wheel for no reason.
With the tightening of the environmental zone regulations from 2025, however, many other types of vehicles will also have to undergo the checks. Because from then on, only the cleanest vehicles will be allowed in the emission-free zone. This means that cars - as well as trucks, vans and later also taxis and coaches - will have to be electric or hydrogen-powered to gain access to the Tilburg Low Emission Zone.
As the number of low emission zones increases and stricter regulations come into force, it makes sense for cities like Barcelona and Tilburg to increasingly invest in control systems. This is because they can ensure that the new regulations are complied with and that the controls are carried out efficiently. At the same time, the new cameras and scanners worry many citizens who drive vehicles that already do not or soon will not meet the emission standards. After all, more inspections will most likely mean more fines. There are enough empirical values from other environmental zones. In Antwerp or Brussels, the cities earn several million euros in fines every year. In Brussels alone, €13,749,000 has been collected from fines since the introduction of the Low Emission Zone in 2018. On top of that, since 2018, there has been €745,360 from "day passes", which are required for free journeys in vehicles that are too old for a maximum of 10 days a year. In total, this amounts to around 15.5 million in revenue generated by the checks of the environmental zone by cameras. By comparison, in Berlin, a total of only 1.4 million euros in fines were collected in the years 2014 to 2017. Here, the controls are only carried out manually by the public order office and the police. It is therefore no wonder that other cities also want to improve their budgets, which are always tight, and in some cases there is still a lot of potential for improvement.
However, with the help of a reliable control system, the reliability of the imposition of penalties in the case of violations is also increased. Barcelona and Tilburg will then be able to ensure the functioning of the new and tightened environmental zones, supporting the implementation of a trustworthy and fair control system.