Dirty diesels

If you use a bicycle for leisure or to get to work, you will have bitter experience of the pollution that some diesel vehicles exude from their exhaust. I can see how pollution levels – especially in London and other big cities – are way above what is recommended for the 21st Century. However, let’s be honest, the congestion charge zone set by Transport for London (TFL) to control the number of vehicles entering central London hasn’t worked.

Operating on weekdays from 07.0018.00, the daily rate for the congestion charge has risen from £5 per vehicle per day at the outset to £11.50 today (with certain reductions and exemptions). However, the city centre is just as clogged with vehicles as it was prior to 2003, when the penalty fees were introduced. And it’s only going to get more congested as time goes on, isn’t it?

Now TFL is altering the emissions targets once more. A new T-charge comes into force on October 23 that covers the same zone as the congestion charge. From this date, if your vehicle conforms to Euro 3 emissions or earlier, you will have to pay an additional £10 per day – that’s £21.50. Then, from April 2019, the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) comes into force. If your vehicle doesn’t meet the set emissions standard, you will have to pay an extra £12.50 on top of the £11.50 congestion charge. To avoid the extra charge, your vehicle will have to conform to the Euro 4 standard or later for petrol engines and Euro 6, introduced in September 2015, for diesels. Where the ULEZ charge differs, though, is that it will operate 24 hours per day, including weekends and public holidays, monitored by traffic cameras throughout the zone.