World’s First Ultra-Low Emission Zone

The reason behind this is that this zone would reduce the amount of people in London living in areas with poor air quality. It has been reported that this scheme would halve the amount of nitrogen oxide that is pumped into the air as well as reducing the amount of particulate matter that is spewed out from exhausts in central London.

It is estimated that the amount of particulate matter that taxis create in London would be reduced by 71 per cent under the new proposal.

It has been proposed that every taxi and private hire vehicle that is presented for licensing from January 1st 2018 onwards will have to be capable of zero emissions.

In the proposal it also states that vehicles up to ten years old can be non-zero emission.

It has also been suggested that there would be a fund set up to help drivers replace their vehicles.

In order to take the plans from proposal to implementation of the scheme the Mayor and Transport for London want to hear the views of those who would be directly affected. As a result they have set up a public consultation to aid their efforts to create the world’s first ultra-low emission zone in London by September 2020.

The consultation is currently running and you can put your views forward here: https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/environment/ultra-low-emission-zone

If the proposal is to go ahead it means that every vehicle that travels within the congestion zone would have to meet the emission standards 24 hours a day seven days a week.

It is suggested that taxis are responsible for a large amount of the harmful emissions within London as they have a lot more mileage than other vehicles and the fact that many run on diesel.

Reports suggest that by 2020 taxis will be the second largest contributors of nitrogen oxide and the largest of particulate matter into the environment. Below GoTaxi have highlighted the parts of the proposal that specifically target those operating in the taxi trade:

• All taxis presented for licensing in London from January 1st 2018 need to be capable of zero emissions
• The proposal reduces the age of vehicles that are not capable of zero emissions to ten years from fifteen years.
• No matter what the licensing requirements are, all private hire vehicles would need to be in compliance with the ultra-low emission zone.

Boris Johnson has said, “As part of my proposals to introduce the world’s first ultra-low emission zone, I want to support the transition of London’s taxi trade to the next generation of zero emission capable vehicles, with new funds to help drivers switch. Introducing the world’s first ultra-low emission zone is an essential measure to improve London’s air quality, reduce N02 and help protect the health and well-being of all Londoners. Working together we can put the taxi industry on a long-term sustainable footing while improving the air that we all breathe.”

The Managing Director of Planning at Transport for London, Michele Dix, has also commented saying, “TfL has worked very closely with the taxi and private hire trade, alongside all other key stakeholders, to ensure we captured their feedback as the ULEZ proposals took shape. We would now welcome their comments on the final proposals as set out in the public consultation.

"We understand that the proposals to reduce the taxi age limit to ten years will mean that some taxi drivers will have to replace their existing vehicles earlier than anticipated. That is why we are proposing a specific fund and working with the government to help those drivers, enabling them to purchase newer cleaner taxis.”

After the public consultation closes in January Transport for London will analyse the results and make recommendations to the Mayor. If all goes to plan and everything is confirmed then in spring 2015 all drivers who will be affected by this change will have three years notice in terms of changes to licensing (2018) and five years when it comes to the new ultra-low emission zone (2020).

www.gotaxi.co.uk