In the clamour to mandate Euro 6 compliance, Tim Steel of Ilkley-based operator Steels Coaches says that there is an unfortunate keenness to forget what the industry achieved when investing in Euro 5
I read the recent article in routeone on coach Euro 6 retrofit with surprise. Nobody in our sector seems willing to praise what we have already achieved with Euro 5 vehicles. We are well ahead of the mass perpetrators of pollution: Cars, diesel trains and planes.
Why are we not getting that fact across to the public at large and why are we not lobbying to make it known that our efforts already to back the air quality campaign have been costly, and yet at the same time demoralising?
All of that work has been superseded by what I can only describe as a form of blackmail. We paid a premium when investing in Euro 5. Then, we are told almost instantly that those vehicles are obsolete unless we either retrofit or buy new Euro 6 coaches – which may face the same questioning in a short time.
In other words, we have already increased our outlay over earlier Euro stages by £17,500, and then it it widely assumed that we will willingly pay another £20,000 for retrofit.
Treated unfairly?
Every year, bus and train fares increase. We accept that or we boycott them. Of course, those operators are within at least a semi-protected environment, yet with coach hire, we are expected to stand the costs and sometimes work almost for nothing.
We talk to the public about the cost of reducing emissions and there seems to be a hesitant oblivion. If we approach politicians, civil servants or the mainstream media, we quickly realise that they do not understand the coach industry and how it works.
On occasion, I have spoken to education authorities and dropped the hint that, prior to Euro 1, an exhaust box cost around £450. The equivalent today for a Euro 6 package is £20,000. I doubt whether they listen, or if they do, whether they believe me. The matter appears to wash over their heads. Even more disturbing is that there is not one iota of gratitude. There is a total disregard for our industry and what we already do for the environment.
If morals suggest that private enterprise should provide everything for nothing, then for sure our efforts are a waste of time, and consideration for our costs is in the past tense.
‘Appalling condemnation’
At Steels Coaches we have no bias towards either Euro 5 or Euro 6. That said, I am appalled by the condemnation of Euro 5. It seriously hinders the natural process of moving forward for many operators.
We have, in effect, removed the vital link to the next stage from earlier Euro levels. That chain has been broken by bureaucratic crass. Instead of being regarded as a success story, the result has seen a degradation of confidence in Euro 5.
There are a tremendous number of cars, both new and old, that emit more than a Euro 5 coach. Can anyone else see the problem with that? In many cases Euro 5 breathes almost fresh air, just as it should; we have spent £17,500 per vehicle on technology to achieve that.
What would the views of operators be that have upgraded to Euro 6 be if an edict was issued that they need to then spend a further £20,000 to retrofit those coaches to meet Euro 7 emission levels? That is effectively what is happening to operators that bought Euro 5 coaches to achieve London Low Emission Zone compliance.
Those major investments have, for many, now lost significant value almost overnight. They are quality, and in many cases nearly-new, coaches that have emissions technology that is far ahead of that fitted to many cars. And now we are told that they are no longer good enough. Any operator that invests in new or modern vehicles should not be penalised. To the contrary: They should be respected and rewarded for that achievement.
Is retrofit viable even?
To me, retrofitting a coach to take it from Euro 5 to Euro 6 is not economically viable. We have already spent significant money in the first place to achieve Euro 5. On that basis, I feel that we should be recognised for backing earlier directives. That would allow us to maintain faith and to make provision for moving on in due course.
I also believe that a Euro 5 coach should be segregated from a bus in terms of emission regulation. Euro 5 coaches should be exempt from the various emission control zones and they should be allowed to phase out of service over a sensible timeframe.
An example of how things should change is how coaches and buses are placed into the same, simple group. Coaches should be recognised on their own merits and they should not be categorised as buses.
A bus may be in service for 18 hours per day. Many travel entirely within the confines of a city and they are also subject to congestion. Emissions will naturally be high for older models. I believe that anyone with a fair mind will agree that urban buses is an area that should be prioritised.
Indeed, I congratulate the bus industry. It has done a sterling job of upgrading to Euro 6, zero-emission or the various gas alternatives.
A coach is not a bus
But we should not have to explain that a coach is a completely different beast to a bus. Generally speaking, a coach makes one journey into a city centre and then one out again. Usually they are undertaken at off-peak times, and thus the impact of congestion is not as severe.
Clearly, there are exceptions to that. But our Euro 5 coaches are still, in many cases, three times cleaner than lots of cars.
My view is that Euro 6 retrofit is only for the chosen few. Why throw good money after bad? Before going for retrofit, it is my belief that one’s head should be put on the block and that resources should be stretched to go for a new Euro 6 model.
But buying new does not resolve the Euro 5 dilemma. I would like to see the restrictions on Euro 5 coaches in emission control zones rescinded for the reasons above. There is every reason to believe that a balanced mix of Euro 5 and Euro 6 could work very well.
Close to home
Leeds is our closest city. It is 25 miles away and it is among the next areas to come onboard with emissions controls. The charge for bringing a non-Euro 6 coach into its Clean Air Zone will be £50 from January 2020.
If I was to spend £20,000 on retrofitting a Euro 5 coach to achieve Euro 6 compliance, that vehicle would need to undertake a huge number of journeys into Leeds to recoup the investment.
That is before I consider possible increased fuel consumption, equipment malfunction-related downtime and replacement parts. All of those are unknown quantities.
For other operators, such as those that are city-based or those that run a mix of rural and urban bus routes, matters are different and they are difficult to delineate. But even pre-Euro 6, they both make a much lower contribution to poor air quality than a bus that spends all of its time in an urban setting.
To reiterate, any coach operator that has previously invested to achieve Euro 5 compliance should initially be exempt from emission control zones. Within 10 years, Euro 5 coaches will start to come to the end of their lives. Our fleet will then be Euro 6, Euro 7 or maybe zero-emission.
Tim Steel’s opinions do not necessarily reflect those of routeone or of the Editor. But do you agree or disagree with him? Please email tdeakin@divcom.co.uk regardless.
