The new London T Charge was introduced last month. If you have a Euro 4 coach then you are fine. However, if your coach is converted to Euro 4 with a particle trap then it’s not.
Then we have the pleasure of the announcement of the Ultra Low Emission Zones (ULEZs) introduction date being brought forward, giving us 17 months to prepare for it.
In a recent article, it was declared that Sadiq Khan had announced an £86.1m retrofit programme for London buses to be completed by September 2020, by my reckoning this is 17 months after the introduction of ULEZs.
According to Transport for London (TfL) figures, taxis contribute 2% to pollution and coaches 3%. If taxis are older than 10 years old, they get a subsidy to change.
The figures being bandied about by TfL are from 2013 – four years out of date. I feel that if TfL released the latest real figures – values, not percentages – a marked reduction would be shown.
The whole basis of ULEZs and its rapid and draconian introduction is just going to kill London.
Organise some demonstrations, step up now, get your voice heard… before it’s too late.
Peter Lewis,
Independent Passenger Logistics Consultant
