In two years, the next stage of implementing the clean transport zone (SCT) in the capital will come into force. It will additionally cover cars with a petrol engine with the Euro 3 standard and a diesel engine with the Euro 5 standard. Currently, there are almost 130,000 registered in Warsaw. such cars.
From 2026, when the second stage of SCT implementation in Warsaw came into force, petrol cars with Euro 3 or diesel cars with Euro 5 can drive in the zone. In two years, they will no longer be able to enter the zone. From 2028, in the Warsaw clean transport zone, a vehicle with a petrol engine (including LPG) will have to meet the Euro 4 standard or be manufactured no earlier than in 2005, or a vehicle with a diesel engine (including LPG) will have to meet at least the Euro 6 standard or be manufactured no earlier than in 2014.
According to data from the Ministry of Digital Affairs, currently in Warsaw alone there are 64,896 registered cars with a petrol engine meeting the Euro 3 standard, and 64,392 with a diesel engine meeting the Euro 5 standard.
In turn, according to data from the capital city hall, there are approximately 52.5 thousand petrol cars meeting the Euro 3 standard produced after 2000, and approximately 55.4 thousand with diesel engines meeting the Euro 5 standard produced after 2009. According to these data, the problem affects a total of almost 108,000. car The city hall only takes into account cars that have valid technical inspections or are invalid for no longer than one year.
Which models will disappear from the capital's streets?
These cars include popular petrol cars, including: Toyota Yaris (1st and 2nd generation), Skoda Fabia, VW Polo (IV) and Golfs (IV and V), as well as Ford Focus, Opel Astra (G, H) and Toyota Corolla. However, with diesel engines there are, for example, Skoda Octavie and Suberb (II), VW Passat B7 and Tiguan, Renault Laguna and Megane (III), Ford Mondeo Mk4 and Focus Mk3, Citroen C5 II and Peugeot 508, as well as BMW 3 series E90/E91.
The next stage of SCT implementation will come into force in 2030. Then, petrol cars with the Euro 4 standard and diesel cars with the Euro 6 standard will not be able to enter the zone. That's over 260,000. cars registered in Warsaw (gasoline 99,855, diesel – 166,927).
The city hall gives the figure for petrol cars with the Euro 4 standard produced after 2005 as approximately 96.5 thousand. pieces, and for Euro 6 diesels produced in 2014-2016 – approx. 35.8 thousand, which gives a total number of approx. 132 thousand. car
Final stage in 2032. Cars manufactured after 2009 will disappear
The final stage of SCT implementation will come into force in 2032. Another over 125 thousand now registered cars (petrol cars with Euro 5 – 107,328 and diesel cars with Euro 6dT – 20,000) will not be able to drive on SCT.
According to the city hall, there are 95.3 thousand Euro 5 petrol cars produced after 2009, and about 39.8 thousand with a diesel engine with the Euro 6dT standard, i.e. a total of about 135 thousand. car
In total, over half a million cars will be banned from entering the SCT within six years currently registered in the capital itself, according to data from the Ministry of Digital Affairs, and according to data from the capital city hall, 375 thousand. car In addition, there are cars of people living in Warsaw but having cars registered outside the capital.
PiS project rejected – councilors wanted conditional entry for residents
PiS councilors in the capital have repeatedly proposed a draft resolution that would allow Warsaw residents to drive cars owned by them on SCT, regardless of the age of the cars. The projects did not receive the approval of KO councilors and urban movements.
The chairman of the infrastructure and investments committee, councilor Piotr Wertenstein-Żuławski, emphasized that the introduction of SCT was preceded by three months of consultations, with many thousands of residents expressing their views.
– Developed solutions that are a compromise have been introduced. Already over 40 thousand inhabitants of Warsaw replaced their cars in preparation for SCT – this is the data we have from the vehicle registration database – said the councilor.
The zone in force from July 1, 2024 is limited to Al. Prymasa Tysiąclecia, Al. Jerozolimskie, Trasa Łazienkowska, Al. United States, ul. Wiatraczna and railway tracks along the northern railway bypass to Al. Primate of the Millennium. It covers most of Śródmieście and parts of Wola, Ochota and Praga-Południe. It covers an area of 37 square kilometers.
For now, there are exceptions
Until the end of 2027, residents of Warsaw who pay taxes there are not covered by SCT requirements. People with disabilities and seniors (people who are 70 years of age in 2023 and older) are not covered by SCT requirements indefinitely.
From January 1 this year the clean transport zone is also valid in Krakow. It covers approximately 60 percent. city area. Drivers of vehicles that do not meet SCT requirements must pay to enter it. Residents of Krakow who bought a car before June 26, 2025 are exempt from fees.
Some residents of the capital of Małopolska did not like the way of introducing and the principles of SCT. This was one of the reasons for starting the referendum campaign. Almost 134,000 people signed a motion to call a referendum on the dismissal of the Mayor of Krakow, Aleksander Miszalski, and the Krakow council. inhabitants. In mid-March, the application was submitted to the National Electoral Office of the Delegation in Krakow.
In the meantime, the mayor of this city bowed to the pressure of residents and proposed a draft resolution correcting the rules applicable to SCT.
On Tuesday, the resolution on the introduction of SCT was adopted by Szczecin councilors. It is to cover the Old Town: the entire Oder part of the Old Town and a fragment of the so-called upper terrace, within the boundaries of Wyszyńskiego and Tkacka streets, to the line of Trasa Zamkowa. There, cars with petrol engines manufactured no earlier than 2000 (or meeting the requirements of at least Euro 3 exhaust emission standards) and diesel cars no older than 2005 with the Euro 4 standard will be able to enter the Clean Transport Zone. Vehicles that do not meet these requirements will be able to enter the Zone without restrictions 30 days a year.
Katowice also intends to introduce a clean transport zone. There, the proposed SCT area is around the market square with already low car traffic. (PAP)
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