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A former Vosa station manager has warned Commercial Motor that Vosa will face an "avalanche of enquiries" about compliance with the London low-emission zone (LEZ) which it may not be able to answer because Transport for London (TfL) is providing too little detail. Mike Henning, who recently left Vosa after 16 years' service, says: "What information is appearing is coming in dribs and drabs. Vosa is the innocent victim in this because although it has the contract,  it hasn't been supplied with enough detail. TfL is talking about Euro-3 but it hasn't specified what the particulate matter [PM] value will be."

The Euro-2 and Euro-3 PM value was 0.4mg/m3, but Henning confirms that most Euro-1 engines meet this. "A lot of early Mercedes and Dafs meet the spec, and some Volvos back to 1995. TfL talks about adaptation - such as the M-B electronic management systems or Daf's modified fuel pumps which enabled these engines to qualify for the RPC.

Operators should check with their dealers and state this modification and serial number on their LEZ adaptation form." Operators might be able to avoid the cost of a particulate trap on non-compliant engines by fitting a filter, which, Henning says, is a much cheaper option.