LoCITY’s James Smith: Key details on London’s ULEZ

At the recent round of LoCITY working groups, several members had questions about how they could prepare for the London’s forthcoming Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). I thought I’d take this chance to outline some of the key details ahead of its launch on the 8 April 2019. It’s less than a year away so now is the time to start preparing if you currently do business in central London

The ULEZ will replace and build on the success of the T-Charge. It will cover the same central area, alongside and on top of the weekday Congestion Charge, but it will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. This means vehicles driving within the Congestion Charge Zone will need to meet new stricter emissions standards to avoid paying an extra daily charge. Your light, up to 3.5 tonne Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), vehicles need to meet the Euro 6 standard for diesel engines and Euro 4 standard for petrol engines to be compliant with the ULEZ and avoid paying a daily charge. Vehicles above 3.5‑tonne GVW need to meet Euro VI standards. If you are unsure whether your vehicle meets these standards then there is a vehicle checker on the TfL website (tinyurl.com/y9hsddnw).

The ULEZ is intending to deter older, more polluting vehicles driving within central London. The new charges reflect that ambition so heavy vehicles not meeting the standards including HGVs, buses and coaches are set at £100 per day. Lighter vehicles not meeting the standards including cars, motorcycles, vans and mini-buses will pay £12.50 per day. This pricing will apply 24/7, so if your vehicle doesn’t meet the required emissions standards and travel in the Congestion Charge Zone 07:00 and 18:00 Monday to Friday, you’ll have pay both the ULEZ and the Congestion Charge.

In terms of retrofitting, the Clean Vehicle Accreditation Scheme has been established to ensure any solution has been approved. Once accredited options are available for heavy vehicles, and certified to meet Euro VI standards, then they will not have to pay the ULEZ charge. Visit tinyurl.com/yasopjfa for more information and sign up to the Fleet Briefing newsletter for the updates on the latest options.

Now is an ideal time to consider ultra-low and zero emissions capable alternatives. Our LoCITY Commercial Vehicle Finder www.locity.org.uk/
locity-commercial-vehicle-finder/ will tell you what ultra low emission vehicles are available for your fleet.

If you’ve got more specific questions around ULEZ and its impact on commercial fleets then get in touch via enquires@locity.org.uk and we’ll direct you to the best place for more information. Next month I’ll be discussing more about LoCITY including details about our exciting conference on September 5 at Kempton Park.