Now diesel drivers face new ‘pay as you pollute’ charges

DIESEL owners could be charged for where and when they drive under ‘pay as you pollute’ plans.

New technology could see motorists billed more if they go near sensitive sites such as schools, driving in rush hour and using older, more toxic vehicles, or less if they reduce their vehicle’s environmental impact.

A £1million Government grant was awarded yesterday to fund the development of monitoring devices that track vehicle movements and the levels of toxic nitrogen oxide they produce.

Diesel owners are already facing a nightmare of increased road tax and pollution taxes if they drive into cities across the country. London mayor Sadiq Khan recently announced plans to charge diesel drivers up to £ 4 a day to enter the congestion charge zone in the centre of the capital.

Yet those behind the new system – led by vehicle tracking company Tantalum and Imperial College London – claim it could present a fairer alternative than the day-rate levies.

The Air.Car project – set to begin a trial in the autumn – will feature 1,000 vehicles in cities with pollution problems, including London, Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton.

Cars will be fitted with the technology to log emissions data and track the vehicle location and driver’s behaviour – including how often they rev the engine. The data could then be used to charge drivers on how much pollution they generate and where they have been.

Dr Marc Stettler, of the department of civil and environmental engineering at Imperial College London, said that the project would ‘deliver practical and real-world solutions to the environmental problems facing our rapidly growing cities’.