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Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has made no secret of his plans to improve the capital's air quality and has recently confirmed details of a new Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in central London that will see the most-polluting vehicles forced to pay £12.50 every time they enter the zone - on top of the existing congestion charge.
It's also been revealed that the ULEZ will come into force significantly earlier than first expected, with the scheme set to go live in April 2019, rather than 2020, as was originally posited. This will replace the £10 T-charge (Toxicity Charge) that will come into force in October this year. It's estimated that these proposals will help cut London's road transport nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by up to 50% by 2020.
The charge will apply to diesel vehicles that don't meet Euro6 emissions standards and petrol vehicles that don't meet Euro4 regulations. For non-compliant cars, vans and motorcycles, it'll cost £12.50 every time they enter the zone, while large commercial vehicles will have to pay £100. Unlike the current congestion charge, the ULEZ will be in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Black cabs will, however, be exempt.
Residents of the affected areas will also benefit from a 'sunset period' - where they won't have to pay the charges - running until April 2022, while disabled residents will be exempt from paying until September 2023.
Khan said: "The air in London is lethal and I will not stand by and do nothing. I'm announcing bold proposals that are critically needed to safeguard Londoners from our air quality health crisis. I am introducing a new T-Charge this October and subject to consultation, I want to introduce the Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London in April 2019. This alone will mean the capital has the toughest emission standard of any world city."
It's not just London that's addressing this issue, however, as reports have emerged that up to 35 other towns and cities across the country are looking to introduce similar measures.
Several weeks ago (see issue 263) BusinessCar reported the fact that Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton will all introduce their own clean-air zones by 2020.
Meanwhile, rumours are circulating that a further 25 towns and cities - likely to include major urban centres like Manchester and Liverpool - will be introducing their own ULEZs.
These measures will almost certainly focus on commercial vehicles and older diesel vehicles, and follows a court win in November 2016 for environmental campaigners ClientEarth over the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The campaign group successfully argued that the Government was not doing enough to limit the rise of air pollution. Mr. Justice Garnham ruled that the Government (as well as local authorities) needed to urgently improve their efforts, as the measures that were in place then were "inconsistent" with the various authorities taking action to reduce pollution levels "as soon as possible" as is prescribed in law.
Indeed, according to reports, Cambridge city council has written to the current environment secretary Andrea Leadsom to be the first city to apply to gain powers to implement a Clean Air Zone.
John Chuhan, chief risk officer at leasing firm Alphabet, told BusinessCar: "The expected unveiling of new air pollution measures from environment secretary Andrea Leadsom demonstrate this is an issue for the whole UK, not simply the South-East corner."
While there's no doubt that these plans will improve air quality in the country's urban centres, some groups are concerned about the commercial impact.
Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, commented: "We agree that it is important for Government and businesses to work together to improve air quality, but are also concerned about the financial impact on small businesses, not least if the goalposts are shifted. We continue to call for an economic assessment of the impact of the proposals on London's small businesses in particular, coupled with steps to make sure that businesses are supported to adapt to any changes."
Meanwhile, Tamzen Isacsson, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' (SMMT) director of communications and international, said: "The SMMT recognises the air quality challenge and wants to see London and other cities meet their targets. The announcement, however, which brings forward the Ultra Low Emission Zone by 15 months, gives consumers and businesses far less time to adapt and make appropriate purchasing decisions."
Furthermore, Gerry Keaney, BVRLA chief executive is concerned about the impact it'll have on country-wide fleets, saying "There needs to be some joined up thinking, because it makes no sense for there to be an ultra-low emission zone in London which doesn't correlate to other cities, for businesses that operate national fleets there needs to be some sort of national consistency so we feel very strongly about a national framework that needs to be in place."
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