If you bring a truck or van almost anywhere within the M25 area you could face a daily charge of £200 if you have a non-compliant vehicle. There would also be a penalty fee of £1,000 if you don't pay, reduced to £500 if you pay within 14 days. Even if you never have a truck or van inside the M25 you should be concerned because what will happen in London next year could be taken up by local authorities.
No. In fact the regulations are so badly written that a 1993 truck with a Euro 1 engine may well be allowed into London. This is because Transport for London is only using part of the Euro 1 regulations. It is only measuring particulate levels, and ignoring the levels of NOx (nitrogen oxides). According to Ray Catley, manager environment and trucks at Volvo, most Euro 2 vehicles would comply with the particulate levels, as would a 1993 Volvo FH12. In fact it would be possible for an 18-year-old truck to comply with the particulates regs. However, particulate traps may have to be fitted to many vehicles.
Who knows? But it might have something to do with its equipping buses with particulate traps. These don't work particularly well by all accounts.
The industry wants a rolling eight-year scheme which would mean vehicles more than eight years old
would have to pay the daily fee. Under TfL's scheme vehicles up to 12 years old may comply. So the industry's preferred route is actually more environmentally friendly.
There will be new automatic number plate recognition cameras throughout London out to the M25. In addition enforcement officers will be searching for non-compliant vehicles. But there is a major problem in identifying the Euro level of a vehicle. It is not on the registration document or stored anywhere else. The date of registration does not necessarily help as a Euro 3 vehicle could be registered later under derogation. Ray Catley of Volvo says he is already receiving requests from hauliers wanting a letter certifying the emissions level of the vehicle. However TfL thinks it is going to be simple as the vehicles will already be listed by the DVLA.
In theory yes, but it is unlikely that they will be tracked down and the fine paid. In Sweden a similar scheme resulted in vehicles that came in from neighbouring countries not paying.
From early 2008 the LEZ will affect all trucks over 12 tonnes, so initially 7.5-tonne vehicles will not be affected. But from July 2008 all goods vehicles between 3.5 tonnes and 12 tonnes will be included. Then in 2010 vans between 1.205 tonnes and 3.5 tonnes will be affected.
Yes. In January 2012 heavy vehicles will have to comply with Euro 4 levels for particulates. It is important to remember these dates when planning truck purchases as vehicles with Euro 3 engines may have to pay the daily charge after January 2012 if the particulates are higher than Euro 4.
It may, as operators who work in London will want to sell Euro 3 trucks before the 2012 deadline. It might be that national operators will move their new vehicles to London and the older vehicles to other parts of the country.
Between £65m and £135m according to a feasibility study.
According to minutes from the Greater London Assembly, the Mayor has put forward three different figures. Some estimate that it will cost up to £10m to set up and £7m a year to run, with revenue from fines expected to be up to £4m, so it will lose money.
It will do very little for NOx levels, as only particulates are covered. However TfL estimates a 1.5% reduction in NOx in London and a 9% reduction in particulates. "If I were living in London I would be very annoyed that my rates money will be going into something that will not actually do very much," says Volvo's Ray Catley.
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