London’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will be reintroduced from Monday 18 May. Both zones were suspended in March.
The move is part of a government support package for Transport for London (TfL) to allow it to continue to operate without cutting services after a collapse in fare revenue.
The LEZ and ULEZ being reintroduced will help to avoid the capital’s roads from becoming “unusably blocked”. However, the requirement for coaches and buses to meet Euro VI standards in the LEZ if a daily charge is to be avoided will not be enforced until early March 2021 at the soonest.
That marks a minor change from TfL’s earlier message, which was that no charges would be payable or enforced for non-Euro VI coaches and buses until the end of February 2021. It added at that time that the date for the start of enforcement would be kept under review. The change to LEZ requirements from Euro IV to Euro VI was originally due to be introduced on 26 October.
Meanwhile, to mitigate reduced capacity on public transport, space is being created on London’s streets to permit increased volumes of cyclists and pedestrians.
Some streets will be restricted to cyclists and pedestrians. Others, and London Bridge and Waterloo Bridge, may see all traffic except buses, emergency service vehicles and zero-emission taxis banned. routeone is attempting to gain clarity on whether coaches will be allowed into those areas.
TfL earlier suggested that some on-street coach parking may be temporarily repurposed to accommodate increased space for cyclists and pedestrians.
