A heavy vehicle scrappage scheme has been launched in London to help small businesses and charities prepare for tougher Low Emission Zone (LEZ) regulations coming into force next March.
Sole traders, businesses with 50 or fewer employees and charities can apply for up to £15,000 to replace heavy vehicles with a compliant one. The grant can also be used to retrofit diesel vehicles to the cleanest Euro VI standards.
Graham Vidler, chief executive of the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK, said: “Coaches and buses are some of the cleanest vehicles on our roads but the costs associated with replacing or retrofitting older vehicles are significant and often a barrier to doing so.
“Despite the pandemic operators retain ambitions to further green their fleets and this welcome funding will help many small family businesses, where possible, to do so.”
The scrappage scheme, launched by the mayor of London Sadiq Khan, follows an 18-month van and minibus scrappage campaign, which saw around 5,000 polluting vehicles removed from London’s roads.
Since October last year assistance has also been available for disabled Londoners and those on low incomes to scrap cars and motorcycles not compliant with the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
The mayor’s office said it hopes these schemes will help small businesses and charities become ULEZ compliant.
Under the existing LEZ emissions standards there is a limit for how much particulate matter (PM) a vehicle can emit in its exhaust gases. To avoid a daily charge heavy vehicles will, from 1 March 2021, have to meet the cleanest Euro VI emissions standards for both PM and nitrogen oxides.
Coinciding with the expansion of the LEZ standards TfL’s Direct Vision Standard (DVS) will also come into force on 1 March 2021. The DVS is a safety permit system that assigns vehicles a star rating based on how much the driver can see directly through the cab window. HGVs with a zero-star rating will required to fit additional safety features.
Enforcement of the DVS and tightening of the London-wide LEZ from 1 March 2021 has not been welcomed by Logistics UK (formerly FTA). Natalie Chapman, Logistics UK’s head of urban policy, said: “Logistics UK and its members fully support the mayor of London’s ambition to improve road safety and reduce air pollution in the capital. However, we have raised concerns with TfL regarding the economic impacts these schemes would place on the industry.
“Therefore, given the immense financial and operational pressure the Covid-19 pandemic has placed on logistics businesses, we are disappointed to see the mayor of London has not further delayed the introduction of both schemes.”
According to Chapman, in order to meet the necessary requirements of the DVS scheme, a significant proportion of vehicles will need to have additional equipment fitted. She added that there are no financial support packages to assist with DVS compliance, which Chapman believes will make delivery of the mayor’s Vision Zero strategy more costly during this difficult time.
However, Chapman said Logistics UK supported the introduction of the heavy vehicle scrappage scheme.
