7 ms·

Life saving regulation. As a denizen of that zone - my office is on the Euston Road which is awful for pollution - I appreciate this a lot.

easytiger 7y ago
Euston road isn't even subject to the congestion charge. Only side roads are. Furthermore the vast majority of traffic circulating in C. London traffic all day are busses, Taxies, phvs and commercial vehicles. Not private vehicles. There is nothing in that note which indicates how, when they came to these conclusions. It's pretty much impossible for the headline claim to be true as a result of the ulez. Where is the supporting collateral? This is political grandstanding.
- cjrp 7y ago
  > Furthermore the vast majority of traffic circulating in C. London traffic all day are busses, Taxies, phvs and commercial vehicles. Not private vehicles. Isn't that proof that the Congestion/ULEZ charges are working effectively?
  - easytiger 7y ago
    It has been that way for a decade. They are saying over a recent six month period that that this ulez has reduced something by 33%. That's pretty much impossible as private vehicles largely affected by this ulez program are a fraction of the circulating traffic (which are vastly more pollution/no2 producing vehicles.
    - lorenzhs 7y ago
      ULEZ does not only affect private vehicles, the list of who qualifies for a discount or exemption is pretty short (residents are exempt for now, taxis, historic vehicles, and things like agricultural and military vehicles or excavators, mobile cranes): https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/discounts-and-exemptions https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/dis... According to the report, only 9% of all vehicles were exempt (38% of non-compliant vehicles, which were 23.2% of all vehicles in September). Everyone else either pays the charge (£100 per day for lorries, buses, and coaches), incurs a penalty, or upgrades their vehicles.
      - easytiger 7y ago
        Sorry, wasn't suggesting commercial vehicles were exempt, but that the ulez doesn't mean they won't make the trip.
        ceejayoz 7y ago
        It might mean the next commercial vehicle that company buys meets the European emissions standards, though.
        easytiger 7y ago
        It might indeed. But that doesn't make the headline claim true
        ceejayoz 7y ago
        Skepticism not backed up with any specific evidence doesn't make it false, either.
        tomgp 7y ago
        Looking at the report I don't really understand where your scepticism comes from there really does appear to have been a 36% reduction in NO2 readings over the period under consideration, an acceleration of an existing trend which the authors take into account in their modelling. They acknowledge the need for further monitoring to confirm that it's not an anomaly but given the existing readings it seems like the press release is making a reasonable representation of the science given the constraints of the format.
        rwmj 7y ago
        Anecdata, but a friend of mine is a flower seller in central London and she has just bought (actually some sort of monthly hire-to-buy scheme) an e-van for deliveries. She was driving a really dirty, ancient van before that and paying a fortune in ULEZ charges. She saving enough in ULEZ and petrol to make the change cost-neutral.
        7y ago
- bobbydroptables 7y ago
  The supporting collateral was linked in the article. Copying here: https://www.london.gov.uk/WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment-publications/central-london-ulez-six-month-report https://www.london.gov.uk/WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment...
- lorenzhs 7y ago
  According to TFA, compliance with ULEZ standards increased from 39% of all vehicles in February 2017 to 61% in March and 77% in September. That means that a lot of those vehicles are no longer circulating in central London. And of the non-compliant vehicles, only 38% were exempt. That is 9% of all vehicles.
- KaiserPro 7y ago
  Commercial vehicles have to be euro-6, otherwise its £100 to enter the ULEZ.

easytiger 7y ago

Euston road isn't even subject to the congestion charge. Only side roads are. Furthermore the vast majority of traffic circulating in C. London traffic all day are busses, Taxies, phvs and commercial vehicles. Not private vehicles. There is nothing in that note which indicates how, when they came to these conclusions. It's pretty much impossible for the headline claim to be true as a result of the ulez. Where is the supporting collateral? This is political grandstanding.

cjrp 7y ago
> Furthermore the vast majority of traffic circulating in C. London traffic all day are busses, Taxies, phvs and commercial vehicles. Not private vehicles. Isn't that proof that the Congestion/ULEZ charges are working effectively?
- easytiger 7y ago
  It has been that way for a decade. They are saying over a recent six month period that that this ulez has reduced something by 33%. That's pretty much impossible as private vehicles largely affected by this ulez program are a fraction of the circulating traffic (which are vastly more pollution/no2 producing vehicles.
  - lorenzhs 7y ago
    ULEZ does not only affect private vehicles, the list of who qualifies for a discount or exemption is pretty short (residents are exempt for now, taxis, historic vehicles, and things like agricultural and military vehicles or excavators, mobile cranes): https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/discounts-and-exemptions https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/dis... According to the report, only 9% of all vehicles were exempt (38% of non-compliant vehicles, which were 23.2% of all vehicles in September). Everyone else either pays the charge (£100 per day for lorries, buses, and coaches), incurs a penalty, or upgrades their vehicles.
    - easytiger 7y ago
      Sorry, wasn't suggesting commercial vehicles were exempt, but that the ulez doesn't mean they won't make the trip.
      - ceejayoz 7y ago
        It might mean the next commercial vehicle that company buys meets the European emissions standards, though.
        easytiger 7y ago
        It might indeed. But that doesn't make the headline claim true
        ceejayoz 7y ago
        Skepticism not backed up with any specific evidence doesn't make it false, either.
        tomgp 7y ago
        Looking at the report I don't really understand where your scepticism comes from there really does appear to have been a 36% reduction in NO2 readings over the period under consideration, an acceleration of an existing trend which the authors take into account in their modelling. They acknowledge the need for further monitoring to confirm that it's not an anomaly but given the existing readings it seems like the press release is making a reasonable representation of the science given the constraints of the format.
        rwmj 7y ago
        Anecdata, but a friend of mine is a flower seller in central London and she has just bought (actually some sort of monthly hire-to-buy scheme) an e-van for deliveries. She was driving a really dirty, ancient van before that and paying a fortune in ULEZ charges. She saving enough in ULEZ and petrol to make the change cost-neutral.
      - 7y ago
bobbydroptables 7y ago
The supporting collateral was linked in the article. Copying here: https://www.london.gov.uk/WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment-publications/central-london-ulez-six-month-report https://www.london.gov.uk/WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment...
lorenzhs 7y ago
According to TFA, compliance with ULEZ standards increased from 39% of all vehicles in February 2017 to 61% in March and 77% in September. That means that a lot of those vehicles are no longer circulating in central London. And of the non-compliant vehicles, only 38% were exempt. That is 9% of all vehicles.
KaiserPro 7y ago
Commercial vehicles have to be euro-6, otherwise its £100 to enter the ULEZ.