Bucharest enters among the cities that protect the health of the air and the population

By Emea Riga
By a decision of the local authorities, Bucharest City Hall has introduced since January 1 the Oxigen vignette.
“The Oxygen vignette came into force on January 1, but we use the first period for accommodation and awareness. Possible fines will be issued from March. I will organize a press conference towards the end of the week and give all the details. Citizens have already started buying Oxygen vignettes, ”explained Gabriela Firea, the General Mayor of the Capital.
“The Bucharest car tax for polluting cars (Oxygen vignette) entered into force on January 1, 2020, but drivers traveling through Bucharest, even occasionally, must know that the penalties for not acquiring it apply only from March 2020. Oxygen vignette can be purchased, for the moment, only online by entering the website of the Street Administration http://www.aspmb.ro/ or https://www.roviniete.ro/ro/oxigen. The cars with pollution norms below Euro 4 will pay for the Oxygen vignette, and the cars with engines under Euro 3 will no longer have access to the city center! The Euro 4 cars will pay the vignette from 2021. The cars with non-Euro, Euro 1 and Euro 2 pollution norms will be completely banned in the center of the Capital and will have access to the rest of the arteries only with the purchase of the vignette. The only cars that will not be affected by the restrictions are electric, hybrid, Euro 5 and Euro 6. The measures are applied from Monday to Friday, between 07.00 and 22.00, except for public holidays. Apart from the program, it is possible to circulate free of charge, through all areas of Bucharest, regardless of the pollution norm ”, is shown on the Facebook page Oxygen for Bucharest, dedicated to the project.
The drivers who do not have the appropriate vignette will be fined from 1,500 to 2,000 lei. The sanctions will be enforced both by local policemen and police officers, as well as by “the general mayor’s authorized officers”.
The city center is the Air Quality Action Area (ZACA) within the perimeter bounded by the regulations of the Bucharest City Hall.
The City Hall has announced that the vignette can only be bought online by entering the website of the Street Administration http://www.aspmb.ro/ or https://www.roviniete.ro/ro/oxigen.
The City Hall will check those entering the central area and those who do not pay the vignette with the help of surveillance cameras, a system similar to the one in London. Some of the rooms have already been installed as well as the signs showing the central area of ZACA.