TfL launches ULEZ awareness campaign
Sat 16 April 2016
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Transport for London has launched a campaign to raise awareness and understanding of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) which will operate 24x7 from September 2020.
The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is an area within which all cars, motorcycles, vans, minibuses, buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) will need to meet exhaust emission standards (ULEZ standards) or pay a daily charge to travel.
The ULEZ will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week within the same area as the current Congestion Charging Zone (CCZ), and comes into force in September 2020. The ULEZ standards are in addition to the Congestion Charge and the Low Emission Zone requirements.
London is currently in breach of legal limits for NO2. An equivalent of 4,300 deaths in London per year is attributed to air quality related illness. The Capital also faces challenging targets to help mitigate the effects of climate change.
TfL says, however, that London's air quality has improved significantly in recent years. It's now considered compliant for all but one air pollutant for which the European Union has set legal limits. This pollutant is nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which has impacts on public health.
To protect human health, the European Union has set legal limits for concentrations of pollutants in outdoor air, including particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). These apply to London and the UK as whole.
It's the responsibility of the UK Government, boroughs and the Mayor to take action in order to meet these limits. Failure to do so may result in significant fines being imposed on the UK Government under EU law.
London says it is also introducing measures to promote more walking, cycling, use of public transport and to encourage sustainable freight deliveries. ULEZ is another way to further reduce the most harmful emissions generated by road transport in central London and across the Capital.
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