It looks like drivers of vans with a maximum weight of under 3.5 tonnes may escape the London Low Emission Zone, at least for the foreseeable future. Restrictions that would effectively ban vans that weren’t Euro III compliant from entering the zone were due to be introduced in October 2010 – but London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced his intention to suspend the introduction of these rules.
LEZ – What’s That?
Anyone who regularly drives in the Greater London area will probably have come across the Low Emission Zone, or LEZ. Most of the space within the M25 falls into the LEZ (click here for a map of the zone), including the M4 Heathrow Spur, the M4 east of Junction 3 and the M1 south of London Gateway Services.
The goal of the LEZ is to reduce the use of older, more polluting large vehicles (vans, buses, lorries and coaches) in the Greater London area. Restrictions put in place in July 2008 mean that lorries, buses and coaches that do not meet the Euro III emissions standard have to pay a daily charge of £200 to enter the zone.
From October 2010, a similar restriction was to be placed on vans weighing up to 3.5 tonnes – a £100 daily charge for vans failing to meet the Euro III emissions standard. (Cars, motorcycles and vans with an unladen weight of under 1.205 tonnes are exempt from the LEZ.)
What Does This Mean For Me?
Most vans made since 2002 do comply with the Euro III standard – and more recent vans meet the later Euro IV or even Euro V standards. For these vehicles, the LEZ has no effect. No registration or permit is required – just ignore it.
Most London van hire companies operate vans under 5 years old, so they will all meet the Euro III standard anyway.
If the proposed suspension of the new rules goes ahead, then it won’t matter what you are driving. However, if it doesn’t, there are likely to be some seriously inconvenienced people. Tradesmen and small businesses operating older vans – perhaps because they do very limited mileage – will have to choose between buying a newer vehicle and paying £100 a day to go about their business. Similarly, any van hire companies operating within the LEZ will have no choice but to replace any non-Euro III vans with newer vehicles.
If you want to check whether a van you drive is compliant with the proposed October 2010 rules, then Transport for London provides an online compliance checker – click here.