Fuming over LEZs
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Question: When is a Low Emission Zone not a Low Emission Zone? Answer: When it doesn't include cars and vans. As the FTA quite rightly says, excluding light vehicles from any LEZ traffic calculation would be "ludicrous".
Who on earth believes that urban air pollution is caused solely by diesel-engined trucks, especially when they're already in a minority? By all means create LEZs and improve air quality for city dwellers— but without induding cars and vans the whole thing becomes laughable.
What's not funny is the expectation that somehow truck operators will pick up all the tab for providing cleaner, greener vehicles— particularly if they are required to fit equipment that goes beyond current EU type approval and engine certification standards.
If local authorities start demanding extra particulate traps on trucks delivering into an LE Z then it's fair to expect that operators will get suitable reductions in their VED or local business rates, in exactly the same way as "green" hauliers received road tax rebates under the Reduced Pollution Certificate (RPC) scheme.