Operators in the north of England will no doubt be wondering exactly what the Leeds Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will mean for their businesses when it is introduced.
Those further afield should be watching, too. The Leeds CAZ is likely to form a basis for other local authorities’ aspirations for urban air quality, and diesel is once again likely to be the demon of the piece when they are formalised.
But is the industry doing enough to bust the myths about diesel at Euro 6 that have been propagated by the ill-informed, dunce’s hat-wearing mainstream media? Probably not.
In some quarters there is now at last a realisation that wholesale electrification of coaches is a pipedream.
Battery power may work in limited-mileage applications, but for long-distance journeys, it won’t happen without a revolution in energy density first. Coaches will rely on diesel for many years yet. Of that, there can be no doubt.
So what next? It’s difficult to say. But diesel at Euro 6 is by far the most cost-effective method of cleaning up not only coaches, but buses too. Pound-for-pound, it removes the greatest number of older, more polluting PCVs from the road.
The industry is in a difficult spot right now. The general public associates diesel with calamitous air quality problems and regards it as a clear threat to the nation’s health. Operators are married to it for the middle term at least – and without a communication of just how good Euro 6 diesel is, coaches and buses will continue to be targets for the environmental lobby.
