By Tim Ferguson, 14 February 2008 11:27
NEWS
London's Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) is using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to limit the number of high emissions vehicles entering the city.
The zone is designed to reduce the level of harmful diesel emissions produced by lorries and buses by charging to enter the area. Cars and motorcycles are exempt.
High-tech London St Pancras on track
Check out these pics documenting the final stages of the St Pancras makeover. From internet lounges to SMS info St Pancras looks to have it all. 
CCTV cameras photograph number plates as vehicles enter the area and match them with information on a number of UK vehicle databases.
If a vehicle is found to produce greater emissions than the zone's permitted level, the system will check the daily charge has been paid.
The charge is £200 for vehicles not complying to Euro III levels for acceptable particle matter. Non-payment will lead to a penalty charge of £1,000, reduced to £500 if paid within 14 days.
The zone operates 24 hours every day of the year and is the largest of its type in the world.
The system uses data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, as well as vehicles registered with Transport for London (TfL).
The zone currently covers diesel-engine lorries of 12 tonnes or heavier while buses and vehicles of 3.5 tonnes or more will be included from 7 July.
London is among Europe's worst polluted cities and with seven out of 10 Londoners say they are concerned about traffic exhaust fumes, according to TfL.
The largest lorries emit between 25 and 40 times the level of harmful particle matter as the average family car for every kilometre driven.
Comments
There are 9 comments. Join the discussion
1. Chris Goodman
This is definitely little more than a revenue raising scheme for Livingstone as it is broadly punitive with no regard to circumstance. That it is a pointless exercise is really unnecessary to say. To keep a limited area of low carbon emission within a national area is akin to making a circle of sand on the beach to keep the tide out!!
To be serious about the emission from vehicles needs to be tackled by the world's major governments by giving manufacturers five years to produce such low emission vehicles, sales of any other vehicles being generally banned.
This would enable the present zone system to be discontinued, saving the £3 million a year in running costs and getting London moving again.
2. anonymous
larger lorries do reduce the number of journeys required, so lets have a balenced perspective in the article please. not eveything big is bad!!
3. Jeremy Perkins
London smells of diesel fumes, so there is no question that there is a very serious problem here.
However the worst offenders are buses and taxis, so it remains to be seen whether it will prove effective in the end, or whether Red Ken's well-known hatred of cars and car drivers will prevail over his love for the real polluters.
4. Richard
What about dirty taxis?
5. Marcus Gibson
A couple of facts.. Very few trucks of this 'polluting' type - actually ever enter the zone!
Vehicles have to be more than 12 years old to be failures, and almost none are owned by big retailers, distributors or supermarkets.. The mass of pollution in inner London is caused - about 65% at last count - by the 8,000 buses that move around the capital, albeit very slowly, stopping frequently at Ken's new 580 new traffic light systems..
If you want a counter-argument to Tfl's in future, let me know.
PS. London is definitely not 'one of the worst polluted cities in Europe'. Paris, Hamburg, Milan, Rome, Madrid, etc, all record higher levels of atmospheric pollution than we do. London also has no manufacturing sector left, unlike most other European cities.
6. anonymous
I wonder how there are going to tackle the wind blowing pollution into this zone. hmm
dna testing to see which vehicle it came from? I'm not saying something shouldnt be done to reduce emission but this so-called emission free zone apart from increasing revenue does it really do much?
7. Simon
Firstly, this is another expensive stealth tax - it's time you Londoners spoke up and got rid of the lunatic running your asylum !
Now, lets get down to the article. The title is total bollocks ! You can guzzle as much as you like as long as you burn it properly - you can drive a 5mpg lorry with impunity as long at it's Euro III or better.
And although it doesn't apply to cars and motorbikes YET, it soon will do. I note that the article carefully fails to mention that the threshold will be lowered in a few years time (to 2t IIRC) and after that ? There's going to be a LOT of people having to change their cars in the next few years.
This scheme, just like the Kengestion Tax is going to hit anyone who lives, works, buys or sells, has a business, or is in any way connected with London. Many businesses (mostly small ones, the ones already struggling to compete with bigger groups) will be hit by the costs of having to replace their vehicles - having some building work done, look forward to a LEZ surcharge that will be build into the bill !
Of course, big enough businesses will be able to swap their fleet around and move the "dirty" ones to different areas. Small businesses won't have this opportunity.
One one level I really don't care what Londoners choose to allow their lunatic to do to them - I don't go there and I don't plan to.
8. anonymous
Which pollutes more one bus or 30 cars? That's assuming 2 people per car - which is unlikely!!
9. Suzanne
Mobile killer application - you missed camera off the list??? The one application that has infuenced all my friends who have recently got a new phone