Transport for London must do more to ensure the financial burden of upgrading vehicles to ensure continued working access within London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone does not debilitate small businesses, the Freight Transport Association has warned.
When the ULEZ comes into force on 8th April operators of diesel vans that do not meet Euro 6 emissions standards will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive in the zone.
TfL has updated its van scrappage scheme. There are three main options under the pre-Euro 6 vans scrappage scheme:
– operators will receive £3,500 for scrappage and purchase/lease of Euro 6 replacement;
– £6,000 for scrappage and contribution towards running costs (including insurance) of an electric vehicle;
– frequent users of the Congestion Charging Zone will receive £3,500 for scrappage.
Denise Beedell, FTA policy manager for vans and urban, said: “While the scheme will help microbusinesses – defined as companies with fewer than ten employees – cope with the costs of operating within the ULEZ and similar air quality schemes, more specialist operators are likely to lose out. These operators are unlikely to be eligible for funding due to the low turnover threshold. They may also find the cost of upgrading their vans to Euro 6 is still too high, despite receiving financial support from the government.”
