Driving bans in the Netherlands: Extension and tightening of rules in many cities
In the fight against air pollution and congestion, many low emission zones are being extended and more and more cars are now prohibited from entering them.
Until now, the low emission zones in the Netherlands have been accessible to many drivers, mostly older diesel cars. In these months this is changing in many cities, including Amsterdam, a popular tourist destination.
Since November of this year, only diesel cars that meet Euro 4, i.e. with a first registration from 2006, are allowed in the Amsterdam A10 low emission zone. The city will continue to issue warnings until the end of February, after which it will be expensive for those who continue to drive in their old diesel cars. The zones in the city of canals have also been significantly enlarged. In the centre of the city lies the A10 zone, which has been extended to the north of the city since November, almost completely filling the area within the A10 motorway. In addition to the area within the A10, the larger Amsterdam City zone now also includes the districts of Nieuw Sloten, Nieuw-West, Westpoort, IJburg, Zuidoost and Driemond. In addition, only motorbikes that are registered after January 2011 are now permitted in this zone.
In the metropolis of The Hague, there will be a new low emission zone from December 2020, into which no motorbikes or mopeds of class L1 and L2 (2-stroke) will be allowed to enter. The districts affected by this are Centrum, Scheveningen, Haagse Hout, Leidschenveen-Ypenburg, Laak, Escamp, Loosduinen and Segbroek. The existing zone in The Hague remains unchanged. It prohibits the entry of trucks of category N2 and N3 up to and including Euro-Norm 3. Cars and buses will continue to be allowed to enter without restriction.
The City of Arnhem also tightened the rules of its zone as early as 29.10.2020, so that diesel vans of category N1 up to Euro-Norm 3 are now also affected. Until now, only diesel passenger cars and trucks, i.e. vehicles in categories M1, N2 and N3 up to and including Euro-Norm 3, were prohibited. The zone will also be enlarged and infringements of the measures will become much more costly to enforce compliance.
The city of Utrecht will follow suit in February next year and then tighten the rules for almost all vehicles. As in Arnhem, diesel cars and vans of category M1 and N1 will then require at least Euro 4. The city has also already announced stricter rules for trucks and buses: from 2022 they will only be allowed to enter with Euro 6. From 2025, trucks and buses will be completely banned as combustion engines. Only those that run on electricity or hydrogen will then be allowed to enter the country. In 2025 cars and vans will be affected once again: Euro-Norm 4 will also be banned.
All rules and restrictions of the low emission zones in the Netherlands can be found in the Green Zones App.