On 14 June the Glasgow City Administration Committee approved a plan to extend the city’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) to all vehicle types by 31 December, 2022.
The Glasgow City Council says that this is an essential measure for improving air quality in the city centre and beyond.
The LEZ will initially address local service buses on a phased basis from 31 December, 2018 leading to all vehicles entering the zone, including private cars, being fully compliant by the end of 2022. This will ban the use of all non-Euro VI vehicles in the city.
Councillor Anna Richardson, City Convener for Sustainability and Carbon Reduction, said: "The LEZ will make significant reductions to air pollution in the city centre and when fully implemented, will cover all vehicles by December 2022. This will ensure we achieve the improvements in air quality our city deserves.”
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) says that it is deeply concerned that the early introduction of Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone will drive hauliers out of the city and out of business. It says that it’s not clear how Glasgow City Council plans to implement the zone but it believes that a 2022 cut-off date will be disastrous for many hauliers operating in Glasgow, claiming that small operators working on tight margins will struggle to absorb the additional costs of upgrading their fleet early and run the risk of going bust.
RHA Policy Director Scotland and Northern Ireland, Martin Reid has called for more clarity from Glasgow’s City Council and has stressed the necessity of a phased approach to introduce the scheme.
He said, “The timescale for banning pre-Euro VI lorries from Glasgow city centre is completely unrealistic. It doesn’t take into account how much it costs an operator to upgrade, there is no retrofit option and forcing hauliers to replace their trucks sooner than planned is a cost many won’t be able to afford. The inevitable result means that owners of the trucks that maintain Glasgow’s economy will be forced out of business.”
Photo: Martin Reid