Older HGVs will face fines of up to £300 to enter the Greater London area from 26 October 2020, mayor Sadiq Khan confirmed today (8 June).
Following consultation, the mayor has announced he is to tighten the emissions requirement for the existing London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) from Euro-4 to Euro-6 for vehicles over 3.5-tonnes.
This will see Euro-4 and Euro-5 trucks paying a daily fee of £100 to enter the existing LEZ area, and Euro-3 and older paying £300.
The mayor is also extending the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) area up to the North and South Circular roads from 25 October 2021, following its initial central London rollout on 8 April 2019.
While the ULEZ expansion will not affect HGVs, which will already be covered by extended LEZ regulations, it will require cars and vans to be Euro-4 petrol or Euro-6 diesel or pay a £12.50 daily charge,
Both schemes will operate 24 hours, all-year round and be in addition to the current Congestion Charge.
The new ULEZ will cover an area 18 times larger than the existing central London zone.
An estimate of 35,000 vans and 3,000 lorries has been given by the mayor’s office for those that might be affected by the new plans.
The mayor said the expansion of the two schemes will reduce air pollution by as much as 80%, with only 4% of roads in outer London expected to be exceeding legal air quality limits in 2021.
Khan said: “Tackling London’s lethal air and safeguarding the health of Londoners requires bold action. Air pollution is a national health crisis and I refuse to stand back as thousands of Londoners breathe in air so filthy that it shortens our life expectancy, harms our lungs and worsens chronic illness.”
The FTA and RHA both urged the mayor to delay the tightening of any emissions schemes to enable operators time to upgrade their fleets.
