With Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) set to go live in one month [1 June 2023], residents are being urged by Glasgow City Council to read up on the forthcoming zone and prepare accordingly.
The LEZ was set up to support the removal of highly-polluting vehicles from Glasgow city centre and tackle harmful air pollution that could affect residents’ health.
From 1 June, all vehicles driving into the LEZ will need to meet the set emissions standards, or they will face a penalty charge of £60, which will double for each subsequent charge. This will reach a cap of £480 for cars and LGVs, and £960 for buses and HGVs.
The LEZ will operate on a continuous basis, all-year round.
Some exemptions to this fee includes blue badge holders and emergency vehicles. Those currently living in the zone have been given an extra year to comply.
Cllr Angus Millar, city convener for climate and transport said: “With just one month to go before the full roll-out of Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone, we are urging people to plan ahead and make sure they know its requirements.
“Expanding the reach of the LEZ to include all vehicles is an important milestone in ensuring cleaner air for Glasgow – addressing levels and concentrations of air pollution which have remained stubbornly high in the city centre, in breach of the legal limits.
“Poor air quality is harming Glaswegians’ health and contributing to the city’s health inequalities, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable.
“While the vast majority – up to 90% – of vehicles currently entering the city centre will be unaffected, the LEZ standards will address the most polluting vehicles which are disproportionately creating the harmful concentrations of air pollution…I would urge everyone, particularly those who drive into the city centre, to visit our LEZ webpages for more information and to see if their vehicle will comply with the less-polluting emissions standards.”
Motorists who will be impacted by the LEZ can use a national online vehicle checker, hosted by the Scottish government and linked to a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) database, to check if their vehicles meet the standards.
What’s more, the LEZ will cover the city centre bounded by the M8 motorway to the north and west, the River Clyde to the south and Saltmarket/High Street to the east.
Motorcycles and mopeds are unaffected by LEZ schemes in Scotland.
The local authority also hopes the LEZ will also lead to increased uptake of more sustainable forms of transport.
