London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) Starts Today
08/04/2019
Today marks the first day of London introducing the new Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) in Central London. From this, the intention will then be to expand the area by October 2021 to the surrounding areas of London.
This new zone is working towards cutting down the emissions in our capital city, to provider a safer environment for all. Based on some scary reports of the current and future health of our London population, www.londonlive.co.uk reports that over 1000 Londoners per year are being admitted in to hospital due to poor air quality in the city, a quarter of those being children under the age of 14.
By first targeting the centre of London the intention is to make London more liveable for everyone, and will help to reduce lethal and illegal levels of air pollution.
ULEZ will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year, and currently only applies to the same area of central London as the Congestion Charge.
Based on information from the Transport for London website, most vehicles will be charged £12.50 including cars, motorcycles and vans (up to and including 3.5 tonnes).
For heavier vehicles including Lorries over 3.5 tonnes, buses and coaches over 5 tonnes the charge goes up significantly to £100.
So what are the standards that vehicles must reach if you want to avoid these charges?
Here is a breakdown of the new ULEZ standards:-
· Euro 3 for motorcycles, mopeds, motorised tricycles and quadricycles (L category)
· Euro 4 (NOx) for petrol cars, vans, minibuses and other specialist vehicles
· Euro 6 (NOx and PM) for diesel cars, vans and minibuses and other specialist vehicles
· Euro VI (NOx and PM) for lorries, buses and coaches and other specialist heavy vehicles (NOx and PM)
According to the RAC any Diesel cars registered with the DVLA after September 2015 will meet the standards. For Motorcycles and mopeds, those registered with the DVLA after July 2007. Both are based on the declared emissions rather than the age.
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/emissions/ultra-low-emission-zones/
For larger vehicles, such as those that our operation runs here at Translink Express, as per the Transport for London website (www.tfl.giv.uk) they state that generally vehicles registered with the DVLA after 2014 will not be subject to the new ULEZ fine, however charges are applicable based on the declared emissions not the age of the vehicle.
So how will this affect your deliveries to customers based in London moving forward?
This could potentially have an effect on prices to deliveries in London whether on a direct service or via networks. We are lucky enough that our London depot – ELB Partners - have heavily invested in new cleaner diesel engines ahead of this introduction.
What will be the long term effects to customers across the country and potential price hikes to deliveries in to the capital?
Many of these costs which will be incurred by Logistics companies such as ourselves, will ultimately be passed on to customers and end consignee’s in shipping prices for the London area.
Translink Express are lucky that we already operate a newer fleet, with many of our new vehicles able to still operate within this area without being liable for the ULEZ surcharge, can you say the same for your service provider?
If you do have any London requirements and would like to talk to us and discuss our services please do not hesitate to call us.