Up to a third of the UK’s commercial vehicles may not be compliant with Clean Air Zones (CAZ), according to new data…
A Third of Commercial Vehicles Aren’t Compliant
Research conducted by r2c suggests that up to a third (34%) of the commercial vehicles in the UK aren’t compliant with CAZs. As a consequence, they’ll face additional charges when entering them. Fleets making use of older, more polluting vehicles could face fines up to £1,000.
R2c’s fleet platform allows its customers to record the emission standards of each of their vehicles. Hundreds of thousands are EUR0 5 or below. Clean Air Zones have launched, or will soon launch, in the likes of Birmingham, Oxford, Bristol, Bath and Portsmouth. And it’s likely that more will follow over the coming years; as local authorities have a legal obligation to improve air quality.
Hit By Charges
Tim Meadows, managing director at r2c, has said that he was ‘shocked’ by the research. He said, “when we undertook the research, we were shocked at the number of vehicles that will be hit with charges if they enter certain urban zones”.
He added, “also, not all zones require the same emissions standards, or have the same charges, and so if fleets do not keep complete records of the standards of each specific vehicle and where they are compliant or not, it becomes a very complex puzzle to solve”.
It’s never been more important, then, for fleets to determine what emissions their vehicles are producing. They’ll also need to devise a long-term strategy for ensuring compliance with local CAZs and other initiatives.
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