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London launches low emission zone |
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Monday, 04 February 2008 |
London will become a 'low emission zone' on Monday, when transport officials
launch a campaign to cut traffic pollution and improve the capital's air
quality, the worst in Britain and among the poorest in Europe.
The 49 million pound scheme will use a network of cameras to monitor the
emissions of large diesel lorries, later expanding coverage to smaller
commercial vehicles, and impose heavy fines on those exceeding EU exhaust
limits.
Road hauliers are unhappy with the scheme, saying compliance will be expensive,
but transport officials say improving the air quality will help millions of
Londoners, especially those suffering from asthma and other respiratory
problems.
Low emission zones are already planned or in operation in 70 towns and cities in
eight European countries including Norway, the Netherlands and Germany.
"This will be the first in Britain and the largest in the world by a significant
margin," said a spokeswoman from Transport for London, which will run the
scheme.
"London's air quality is the worst in Britain and among the worst in Europe.
Levels of particulate matter in many parts of London are way over EU standards,"
the TfL spokeswoman said.
"It will help improve the quality of life for people suffering from asthma,
cardio-vascular conditions and all the conditions that particulate matter
exacerbates," she said.
The capital already has a congestion pricing scheme, a charge on vehicles
entering the city centre, but that was aimed at reducing congestion rather than
cleaning the air.
The new scheme will initially apply only to diesel lorries over 12 tonnes which
have to comply with strict European Union limits on particulate or soot
emissions from their exhausts.
The scheme will operate all day every day, and cover an area of 1,580 square kms
(610 sq miles), far bigger than Hong Kong.
PHOTOGRAPHS AND FINES
Cameras at 75 sites in and around the zone will photograph vehicles' licence
plates and heavy fines will be issued for non-compliance.
The scheme will be extended to lorries over 3.5 tonnes, coaches and buses in
July 2008 and to larger vans and minibuses in October 2010.
Road hauliers are not happy.
"We realise that the mayor has a statutory duty to improve the air quality of
London but we don't think the scheme as proposed will be effective in achieving
that," a spokeswoman for the Freight Transport Association said.
"It is costing the industry a huge amount of money to comply and some of the
smaller operators will struggle," she said, noting that exhaust scrubbers cost
up to 5,000 pounds.
All lorries made after October 2001 automatically comply with the Euro 3
standards of particulate emissions of 0.05 grammes per kilometre, the level
adopted by the scheme.
TfL said it identified 120,000 lorries of over 12 tonnes inside the zone during
six months of monitoring last year, and estimates 10 percent do not meet EU
standards.
Lorries that do not comply and have not been retro-fitted with exhaust scrubbers
to bring them up to standard will be charged 200 pounds a day to be in the zone,
with a penalty of 1,000 pounds if they fail to pay.
The scheme cost 49 million pounds to set up but is only expected to raise 2 to 3
million pounds a year in daily charges and a further 1 million pounds in penalty
fees.
"This is to improve London's air quality, not make money," the TfL spokeswoman
said.
Source: Reuters
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