The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) co-hosted an event with Transport for London (TfL) to explore the impact of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) on van users in the capital.
The event gathered over fifty representatives from government, business, fleet management and used vehicle suppliers. Participants shared insights and contributed towards plans to ensure effective communication to increase awareness amongst small business van drivers that are likely to be impacted by the ULEZ when it begins operating in April 2019.
The ULEZ will operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week within the current congestion charge area. The new regulations will charge any vehicle not meeting the following emissions standards:
- Euro 3 for motorcycles, mopeds, motorised tricycles and quadricycles (L category)
- Euro 4 for petrol cars, vans, minibuses and other specialist vehicles
- Euro 6 for diesel cars, vans and minibuses and other specialist vehicles
- Euro VI for lorries, buses and coaches and other specialist heavy vehicles
Speaking at the event James Davis, Customer Strategy and Insight Director (Commercial Vehicles) at Cox Automotive UK, explained:
“The biggest challenge for commercial vehicles is the age of vehicles which are on the road right now. Our calculations show that about 80% of vans on the road would not be compliant in an Ultra-Low Emission Zone. It’s important for an operator to think about futureproofing themselves by buying or changing their ownership model to get themselves into a euro 6 van.”
As Toby Poston, Director of Communications and External Relations at the BVRLA explained at the event:
“TfL have an enormous task ahead of them to support the hundreds of small businesses who essentially rely on vans but will be caught out by the new Ultra-Low Emission Zone in a few months’ time. BVRLA members stand ready to help offer affected businesses affordable, compliant alternatives both through the provision of suitable hire, lease and car club van options as well as via their significant contribution to the second-hand market. Our members offer some of the greenest vehicles on the road, with over half of rental vans already being compliant (56%) and nearly all car club vans meeting the standards (96%).
“The BVRLA will continue to work proactively with TfL to hone its communication plans and promote all of these possible solutions ahead of the roll out of the ULEZ next April.”
James Ingram, Principal City Planner, TfL explained:
“One of the key challenges for us is building awareness amongst Londoners before the introduction of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in April 2019. We recognise some of challenges that small businesses face in order to upgrade their fleet in time. That is why we have joined forces with the BVRLA to give smaller businesses as much support as we can to be ready, not just for the introduction of ULEZ, but for the long-term future as London moves towards becoming a zero-carbon city by 2050.”
Sarah King, Development Manager at the Federation for Small Businesses (FSB) added:
“The Federation of Small Businesses has almost 8,000 members in London. There are a lot of members that we want to ensure get the message clearly about the changes that are coming up in April 2019 with the ULEZ and obviously across the wider UK all about the Clean Air Zones.”
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
More information about the BVRLA’s views and recommendations for such zones is available in the association’s related factsheet.
You can access BVRLA images at www.flickr.com/photos/bvrla/albums
