About ten per cent of the 120,000 lorries of over 12 tonnes that enter London do not meet the EU emission standards, according to Transport For London (TFL).

Lorries not fitted with diesel particulate filters that bring them up to standards will be charged £200 per day with a penalty of £1,000 if they do not pay up.

The Lower Emission Zone (LEZ) scheme which starts from today will operate 24 hours a day and will cover an area of 1,580 square kilometres.

Cameras will pick up the licence plates of vehicles and cross check them with a database of registered vehicles.

Road hauliers are not happy with the scheme, according to Reuters, because the plans will be expensive although all lorries made after October 2001 comply with the Euro 3 standards of particulate emissions.

The scheme is costing £49 million to set-up but is expected to raise about two to three million a year from charges.

A TFL spokesperson said it was about making London's air cleaner, not about making money.

Source:

London launches low emission zone for lorries, 03/02/08
http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL0172837320080203?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

UK's first emissions zone begins, 04/02/08
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7225527.stm

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