Following on from the initial consultation last summer – which saw 79% of Londoners support plans to bring the ULEZ forward – the latest round gives Londoners’ the opportunity to have their say on the preferred date for the start of an expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone – which is up to the North South circular for cars, motorcycles and vans, and in central London for buses, coaches and lorries. Options include as early as 2019 to 2021 or later. Depending on feedback the Mayor will ask TfL to develop these potential options into detailed statutory proposals for consultation next year.
Commenting on the issue, FTA’s head of national and regional policy Christopher Snelling, added: “We stated before that the central ULEZ starting in 2019 and expanding in 2020 would cause significant issues – especially in the van sector where there will only be two-and-a-half to three years’ worth of compliant vehicles in the fleet. Typically, operators who rely on second-hand vehicles buy at four years old so it will place significant cost burdens on them.
Now the Mayor has suggested that the expansion to inner London for vans and Greater London for HGVs could happen in 2019, Snelling added: “Bringing this further forward only adds to the cost on small businesses. Those using, or relying on, vans in inner London will now face a situation where there are no second hand vehicles available to purchase.”
The FTA estimates that to comply with these proposals will cost the average small operator with five vans more than £100,000 extra up front – more than 150% of the company’s annual turnover.
Views are also sought on proposals to introduce an Emissions Surcharge for older polluting vehicles entering the Congestion Charge zone in October 2017. The ‘T-charge’ would be in addition to the Congestion Charge, would operate during the same times and would levy a fee of £10 per day for vehicles that do not meet the Euro 4 emissions standard for NOx and PM emissions.
The Mayor has also called on Government to put in place a national diesel scrappage scheme to help people replace vehicles affected by the proposals.
Snelling added: “No-one disputes the need to improve air quality. Once again what we do object to is the one-sided nature of these measures – all burden and no support. London could improve air quality more quickly and reduce the burden on businesses at the same time by offering a temporary discount to the Congestion Charge for compliant vehicles prior to the ULEZ starting. The Government has said it has no interest in a scrappage scheme and we see no prospect of that changing.”
The consultation is open until 18 December for customers, stakeholders and residents. For more details, visit www.tfl.gov.uk/airquality-consultation
A further final consultation will take place in early 2017, which will take into account the views from this consultation and propose statutory changes to the ULEZ.