Expats Face Congestion Charge On The Costa Del Sol

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Expats Face Congestion Charge On The Costa Del Sol.  Expats and tourists will have to pay €20 a day to take a car into a congestion zone.

Expats Face Congestion Charge On The Costa Del Sol

Expats Face Congestion Charge On The Costa Del Sol

Car hire companies and expat residents are up in arms today following the shock announcement that the Costa Del Sol is to introduce congestion charging within it’s major towns.  In a move which mirrors London, drivers wishing to take their vehicles inside the designated congestion zones will have to pay a daily charge of €20.

The scheme will be trialled from the 1st of December in Fuengirola, before being rolled out across all the major towns on the Costa Del Sol.  Car hire companies are very much against the new scheme, Pablo El Coche from Cars Representation Andalucia Protests says “This just can’t work, they don’t know what they’re doing, it’s a rip off.  It will be complete chaos”

Fuengirola Congestion Charge

Motorists in Fuengirola will notice that some roads have already been marked with the congestion charge logo

The government have tried to calm Spanish workers who say they will not be able to afford to travel to work.  Alberto Embrague said “We are not going to be charging Spanish people to travel into the congestion zones.  Cars registered to hire companies used by visitors and cars registered to foreign residents are the only ones who will have to pay the fines, I mean charges.  It’s about taking back control, and saving the environment”.

Racism In Spain

Expats on the Costa Del Sol are now accusing the goverment of racism and discrimination.   Adam Flaps lives in Fuengirola and says “This is racism, pure and simple.  They are saying that if you want to visit a town and you’re not Spanish you’re going to have to pay, one way or another.  Pay the congestion charge or pay for busses or trains or taxis or something like that”.

Payment Machines

Payment machines are going to be installed at inconvenient points in town centres, and drivers will also be able to pay online if they can navigate a complicated and illogical web payment system.  Failure to make payment within 12 hours of entering the congestion zone will result in the vehicle being seized and fines of up to €18000.

Payment Machine

Expats are already complaining that the new payment machines will be too hard to use, as they are in Chinese with no option for English or Spanish instructions.

Exemptions

Some drivers will be exempt from the new congestion charge.  These include drivers of top end vehicles including Ferraris and Bentleys.  Non-Spanish community presidents will also be exempt from the congestion charge.  Enrique Palanca De Cambios from Marbella County Council said “We want to encourage people with nice cars to visit our town centres, regardless of where they are from”.

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Ferrari

Drivers of top end cars like this Ferrari won’t have to pay the congestion charge.

Fuengirola First

Fuengirola County Council say they are delighted to be the first town to introduce congestion charging.  Javier Espejo is the chairman of the Congestion Charging In Andalucia committee and says “This is all  about the environment.  By reducing the number of cars in the town centre, we will cut back on pollution and make life much better for pedestrians who like to walk in the roads as if there are no cars on them anyway.  Any money raised from the scheme will be ploughed straight back into the roads, after we have taken out our expenses and costs and things.  The scheme is so popular in London that we’re sure it will be a hit here too.  If it goes well we could  extend the congestion zones to include push bikes and pedestrians as well”.

Fuengirola Congestion Zone

The area within the red outline is the first congestion charging zone to be enforced on the Costa Del Sol

Louise Hamilton lives in Marbella and travels to Malaga every day to work.  She said “Looking at this map, I have no choice but to pay to get to work.  I either pay to use the A7 through Fuengirola, or pay to use the AP7 round Fuengirola.  It’s a disgrace.  My husband is on the committee at our darts club, we should be treated better than this.”

Nigel Mainsell, originally from Birmingham, is on holiday here with his wife and children.  He told us “I’m not from Birmingham actually, I’m from Coal Aston.  There’s no way we’re coming back here if we have to pay everytime we bring our hire car into the town.  It’s outrageous.  These foreigners don’t know how to look after us Brits.  We’ll look at going somewhere that doesn’t do this next year, maybe Southend or Cleethorpes”.

How do you feel about this new congestion charge?  Have your say in the comments box below!

Written by Murray Walker, Costa Del Sol Update.  24.10.2017

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28 comments

  1. They will soon be saying the shops are loosing money!! Who is going to pay to drive into Fuengirolla..what a load of rubbish

  2. Just another joke to make money. Yes shop will loose money people like locksmiths will have to increase their prices to get close to people in apartments. There is no where to part at the moment. This is going to cause such problems. And they just want nice cars to use these areas.

    Is this an April fools ??

  3. I have heard of this plan last year ,But i am not worried I have already seen numerous Goldcar stickers on the back of Bentley’s and Ferrari’s and i hear there is quite a growing problem of Vauxhall Corsa’s parked up getting dusty with SE VENDE signs cluttering up the side roads and parking lots near Malaga airport ,I suspect that somebody is ahead of the game on this one

  4. This is outrageous. If you’re going to introduce a congestion charge make it for everyone,not just tourists and expat residents. That’s prejudice against everyone but the Spanish and it’s totally wrong. It shouldn’t be allowed. Well, it’ll show when businesses get a slump in sales or go out of business!!

    • It will be interesting to see what happens Constance. Especially as they payment machines are in Chinese. How is anyone supposed to understand them?

  5. This serves the Brits right. They have been travelling to Mallorca, ALL trying to charge constipation tax in the form of insurance claims. What you give you get back. Congestion tax. Do not blaim Spain for not being able to distiguish between the two words. They just balance the books.

  6. Yeah right. Just read in Olive Press the Party Suspect Of Efe-fraud suggested to proclaim Malaga Cultural Capital of Europe! So after collecting congestion taxes, the whole of Fuengirola will likely be demolished. To be converted into parking place for international admirers. It is where the train stops, itsn’t it?

  7. I am a disabled pensioner how do I visit my Chiropractor now! This will kill the already dwindling shops.

  8. I read this and immediately fell on the floor and began foaming at the mouth and biting myself in fury. After a while I got back up and began to assemble something which I will call ‘A Device’. I have ordered a Batman suit – the Adam West version, not that big camp rubber S&M version that Hollywood seems to prefer nowadays. Never fear residents of the Costa Del Sol. I will protect you from these charlatans by carrying out stealthy attacks upon the cameras themselves. I have some of that Gorilla tape and I’ll gum up their corrupt ways.Now I think about it, perhaps a Ninja costume would be more stealthy than the Batman cozzy. I’ll call Amazon on my Batphone. Damn! I’ll have to change that too now I suppose. Anyone know what Ninjas use for telephones?

Have your say!