What Is the Vignette Introduced in Bucharest, What Areas It Covers and How Much It Will Cost

From 2020, the polluting cars, which have norms below Euro 3 (Non-Euro, Euro 1 and Euro 2) will no longer be allowed to drive in the central area. Their owners will have to pay a vignette, a tax to be able to travel on the other streets of the city, which will cost from 5 lei/day if they have Euro 3 or Euro 4 cars or from 15 lei/day if they have older and more polluting vehicles, according to a decision of the General Council of the City Hall, approved today 24.10.2019. From 2021, cars with Euro 4 standards will no longer have access to the central area.

What is the vignette

The Oxygen electronic vignette will be compulsory for cars that have pollution norms below Euro 3 and run in Bucharest, daily between 07.00 and 22.00.

For non-Euro, Euro 1 and Euro 2 vehicles, access will be prohibited during the day, in the central area (between 07.00 and 22.00).

The central area will be delimited as follows: Victoriei Square – Iancu de Hunedoara Boulevard – Ștefan cel Mare Road – Polonă Street – Mihai Eminescu Street – Traian Street – Nerva Traian Boulevard – Gheorghe Șincai Boulevard – Lânăriei Street – Calea Șerban Vodă – Mărășești Boulevard – Mitropolit Nifon Street – bd. Libertății – Calea 13 Septembrie – Izvor street – B.P. Hasdeu – Vasile Pârvan street – Berzei street – Buzești street – Victoriei Square. This central area is named by the Capital City Hall as ZACA (Action Area for Air Quality).

The vignettes will be bought online or at gas stations.

The fines for those who will not buy vignettes will be from 1,500 to 2,000 lei.

 

In total, 200 cameras will be installed, similar to those for the rovinieta, in the significant intersections and at the entrances to Bucharest.

Other cities with vignettes for the central area

A similar tax system has been in London, in the central region since 2003 and is called the London congestion charge. In the beginning, the vignette cost 5 pounds a day, and today it is 11.50 pounds a day.

The residents, the citizens living in the central area, have a 90% discount, and some vehicles are exempt from paying the tax – such as taxis.

The vignette is mandatory daily, only on working days, from Monday to Friday between 7.00 and 18.00. The fine for those who do not buy vignettes is between 65 pounds and 195 pounds.

There are also fees for car access in the central area in the cities of Stockholm and Singapore.

 

However, most of the new office poles in Bucharest are outside the central area, where the vignette could be paid. The employees who go daily by car to the office in transit through the central area will be able to use detour routes or other means of transport.

If you would like more information about the business parks in Bucharest please contact the ESOP team by filling this brief form, or by phone (+4) 0723.26.61.97 or (+4) 021.528.04.40. We’ll promptly answer your inquiry!