City Police to step up checks on rickshaws this weekend
The City Council has stepped up its control of commercial personal mobility vehicles (PMV) since June, the goal being to protect pedestrians and regulate the use of public space, particularly in areas where activity may affect the lives of local people.
The City Police, the Area for Mobility and BSM are running a joint operation this weekend to control class C1 (trixi) PMVs used for commercial purposes.
The municipal goal is for these types of vehicles to circulate in an organised and controlled fashion, complying with traffic regulations. The operation will focus on areas with the highest density of these vehicles.
Barcelona City Council regulated the circulation of PMVs through its by-law on the circulation of pedestrians and vehicles, establishing that these vehicles must be registered, have the corresponding insurance and circulate in the spaces set aside for them.
The City Council is also working with the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) to establish a technical instruction with the requisites to be met for rickshaws to circulate in the city in optimum safety conditions.
In terms of fines, as of mid-July, the City Police had made 1,943 formal denouncements of C1 and C2 class PMVs, notably for:
- Parking a commercial C1 or C2 vehicle of more than two wheels outside of the allocated spaces for them (883 denouncements).
- Circulating with a type A or B vehicle, or commercial C1 vehicle of more than two wheels, from the rental point to the start of the authorised route (for tourist groups) or circulating outside the authorised routes in the District of Ciutat Vella (971 denouncements).
Area of action
The joint operation will be conducted in the districts of Ciutat Vella and Sant Martí.
In addition, and as has been the case since 2016, a decree has been drafted this summer limiting areas to be used by bicycles, PMVs and commercial cycles of more than two wheels in the streets of Ciutat Vella.
This means that during the summer months these types of vehicles can only use the two routes which allow users to skirt the district without entering:
- North-south route: Plaça del Portal de la Pau – Passeig de Colom – Passeig d’Isabel II – Avinguda del Marquès de l’Argentera – Passeig de Circumval·lació.
- East-west route: Passeig de Picasso – Passeig de Lluís Companys –Passeig de Pujades – Avinguda Meridiana.