Area C is a congestion charge introduced in Milan, Italy, on January 16, 2012, replacing the previous pollution charge Ecopass and based on the same designated traffic restricted zone or ZTL (Italian: Zona a Traffico Limitato), corresponding to the central Cerchia dei Bastioni area. The ZTL encompasses about 8.2 km2 (3.2 sq mi) and 77,000 residents (4.5% and 6% of the city total, respectively). The area is accessible through 43 gates, monitored by video cameras.
Area C started as an 18-month pilot program based on the partial implementation of the results of a referendum that took place on June 2011. The objective of the program was to drastically reduce the chronic traffic jams that take place in the city of Milan, to promote sustainable mobility and public transport, and to decrease the existing levels of smog that have become unsustainable from the point of view of public health. Area C was definitively approved as a permanent program on 27 March 2013.
The program was temporarily suspended between 25 July and 17 September 2012 due to a ruling by the Council of State after protests by parking owners in the center of Milan.
Milan has one of the highest European rates of car ownership, as more than half of Milan citizens use private cars and motorcycles, ranking second only after Rome, and among the highest in the world. The city also has the third-highest concentration of airborne particulate matter among large European cities, both in terms of average annual level and days of exceeding the European Union PM10 limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter, according to a 2007 study supported by several environmental groups. Due to its lingering air pollution problems and associated health problems, in 2007, and for a trial period, the city banned 170,000 older cars and motorcycles that do not pass strict environmental emission standards.