Low-emission zones (LEZs) have been formally introduced across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen.
Plans have been agreed at local authority level and have now also been approved by Scottish ministers, as required in legislation through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019.
Scottish transport minister Jenny Gilruth said: “The introduction of LEZs is a truly significant public health moment for Scotland.
“LEZs are the biggest change we’ve ever seen in how vehicles will access our cities – and they need to be, in order to best protect public health and improve air quality.”
With the shape and scope of LEZs now agreed across the four cities through the introduction, local grace periods until enforcement commences have now begun.
In Glasgow, the LEZ already applies to buses, however, for other vehicle types, enforcement will commence on 01 June 2023 and 01 June 2024 for residents within the zone.
Edinburgh and Aberdeen will commence enforcement on 01 June 2024 while Dundee will commence enforcement on 30 May 2024.
Designed to protect public health and improve air quality, LEZs set an emissions limit for certain road spaces, restricting access for the most polluting vehicles.
Vehicles that do not meet LEZ emission standards will not be able to drive within the zone. A penalty charge will be payable by the registered keeper of a vehicle when a non-compliant vehicle enters the LEZ.
The minimum emission standards for vehicles permitted within the four LEZs are Euro 4 for petrol cars and vans (vehicles registered from January 2006), and Euro 6 for diesel cars and vans (vehicles registered from September 2015).
Local authorities will introduce, operate and enforce their LEZ schemes using ANPR cameras. All four cities have proposed schemes operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Penalty charges are also consistent across the four cities. For non-compliant vehicles found to have been driven within the zone the initial penalty is set at £60, with a subsequent doubling for each contravention, capped at £480 for cars and light good vehicles, and £960 for bus and HGV.
The penalty charge is reduced by 50% if paid within 14 days. Where there are no further contraventions detected within the 90 days following a previous contravention, the penalty is reset to £60.
A number of vehicles are exempt from LEZ requirements, including any vehicle driven by a blue badge holder, as well as police, ambulance, Scottish Fire and Rescue, Her Majesty’s Coastguard, military vehicles, historic vehicles and showman’s vehicles. Motorbikes and mopeds are also not within the scope of Scotland’s LEZs.
Funding is available to help people and businesses to comply with LEZs via three main packages for households, micro-businesses, and a separate retrofit fund including support for taxi drivers.
