News

The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) will earn Transport for London (TfL) almost £1m per week if non-compliance rates remain at their current level, MT has discovered. In its first month of operation TfL says that around 4,000 unique non-compliant trucks are entering the LEZ each week. At a rate of £200 per truck that means in a typical week TfL will earn at least £800,000 from the zone this figure will increase if fines are added to the total. In a typical year this would mean a revenue of £46.1m.

According to TfL, it is counting around 50,000 unique vehicles entering the zone each week around 4,000 of which are non-compliant (8%). A spokeswoman says: "We expect this figure to fall further as operators continue to take action to comply with the emissions standards of the zone." TfL says it has written to all operators of non-compliant vehicles entering the zone, warning them they have 28 days from the date of the letter to fit abatement equipment, or use vehicles that comply. After this time operators must pay £200 a day.

TfL says if they can demonstrate they have placed an order for an abatement device or a new vehicle in good time, they can apply for a refund. But the RHA says it is concerned TfL will not guarantee refunds to operators trying their best to comply, but hit by long lead times and unavailable equipment.

TfL also says that a successful media campaign overseas has meant far more foreign operators are registering their vehicles for the LEZ than  anticipated. It has therefore employed 36 extra temporary staff to help administer the scheme. The TfL spokeswoman adds: "The scheme has got off to a smooth start with all systems operating correctly and channels to pay the charge online, by phone, or by post all up and running. All of the cameras are working effectively."