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The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has slammed the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) as an "expensive folly" which has resulted in "negligible environmental benefits".

Gordon Telling, FTA head of policy for London, says it is time to scrap the scheme - run by Transport  for London (TfL) - and instead develop a programme that provides incentives to operators to adopt electric or hybrid vehicles.

"TfL has spent a disproportionate amount of money on publicity, signage and cameras to catch a few thousand older, more polluting trucks.

"Surely a better plan would be to develop a plan B, a project to encourage the take-up of electric trucks and vans."

Mayor of London Boris Johnson is currently asking TfL to review the impact of the LEZ.

According to the FTA, it cost £60m to set up and now requires £10m a year to run.

A TfL spokesman tells Commercial Motor that around 8,750 vehicles have been fitted with particulate traps since the LEZ started.

The first phase of the LEZ covered diesel trucks  of more than 12 tonnes and was rolled out on 4 February last year some 96% of phase-one vehicles meet the Euro-3 emissions standard or above.

Diesel lorries of more than 3.5 tonnes were covered by the second phase of the scheme, rolled out in July 2008, and here the compliance rate is 94%.

Telling adds: "The LEZ has been an expensive folly with negligible environmental benefits and we want TfL to be big enough to admit they have made a mistake. We are saying: walk away from it, find something more environmentally useful to do."