Out of your comfort zone

Clean air zones are here to stay, at least for now, but more and more local authorities are also exploring the use of zero emission zones. Chris Tindall reports

It has been calculated that within two years there will be more than 500 low emission zones across Europe as city leaders recognise the urgent need to reduce air pollution.

But in this stampede to address public health concerns, are the needs and requirements of the haulage industry disappearing into the fog?

For the RHA, the answer is ‘yes’.

“No-one disputes the idea of cleaning up air,” says Chris Ashley, RHA policy lead for environment and vehicles. “The issue is about making sure the vehicle market can support clean air plans.”

The RHA estimates that 75% of the HGV park is now Euro-6, which means most operators are running fleets now that are compliant with a typical city’s clean air zone (CAZ) requirements.

However, some areas of the country are going further and exploring the idea of zero emission zones (ZEZs) and with the commercial electric vehicle market not yet mature enough to handle a scramble for compliant vehicles, the concern is that firms will be penalised.

“There’s a political decision to make: how much are smaller businesses supported by this?” continues

Ashley. “Yes, we completely get the issue that clean air compliance has to be made as quickly as possible, but it must be balanced by the needs of supporting smaller businesses and in our view that’s always been out of kilter.”

Absolute zero

Oxford became the first city in the UK to pilot a ZEZ in February 2022 and a county council spokeswoman says it is proving to be a catalyst for accelerating a transition to zero emission vehicles.

Asked why Oxford chose to launch a ZEZ and not a CAZ, the spokeswoman says: “There is no ‘safe’ level of nitrogen dioxide: in the long term even low levels can be harmful.

“The predicted impact of climate change is well understood, with the UK government committing to zero carbon by 2050. Oxfordshire councils are supporting this by making their own commitments to zero carbon.

“The transport sector is by far the largest contributor to total emissions of nitrogen oxides in Oxford. Additionally, road transport is estimated to contribute around 33% to UK carbon emissions.

“The introduction of a zero emission zone is a targeted solution which we believe can deliver greater improvements to air quality than less stretching standards.”

Bath & North East Somerset Council put itself squarely in opposition with not only the RHA but also the county council after attempting to adjust its CAZ so that even Euro-6 lorries were charged for entering the zone.

It had already annoyed the RHA when it launched its CAZ in the middle of the pandemic, but when it emerged it wanted to start charging Euro-6 HGVs over 12 tonnes GVW £50 a day, Wiltshire county council publicly criticised the idea.

Richard Clewer, leader of the council, says: “These are the cleanest HGVs currently on the market, so this feels less of a clean air initiative and more of a quest to restrict all HGVs in the city.

“This proposal, along with the now extended temporary 18-tonne weight restriction on Cleveland Bridge, is pushing this traffic issue on to Wiltshire roads and through towns such as Bradford on Avon, Corsham and Westbury, and this is something that we are not prepared to accept.”

Ashley says the RHA also told Bath & North East Somerset Council “in no uncertain terms” the plan was not realistic.

Birmingham rolled out its CAZ a couple of years ago and it appears to be happy with the reductions in harmful emissions since its launch.

“In a relatively short period of time the percentage of the most polluting vehicles driving through the zone every single day has more than halved and levels of the air pollutant, nitrogen dioxide, have started to reduce,” says a council spokeswoman. “Clean air for everyone remains a key priority of the council and we want to thank every person and organisation who has changed how they travel through the city centre or upgraded to a less polluting vehicle. These individual changes all add up and help improve the lives of everyone who works and lives in the city centre.”

Greater Manchester’s plans for a CAZ were delayed after it became apparent businesses would struggle to upgrade their vehicles so soon after Covid-19 and in the face of rapidly rising new and second-hand vehicle prices due to supply chain delays.

Careful planning

A Greater Manchester clean air spokeswoman says: “Greater Manchester leaders are progressing with the government’s request for further evidence in relation to the case for a new clean air plan for the city region.

“Greater Manchester’s authorities remain committed to cleaning up the air our residents breathe and will continue to work with government and others to consider any opportunities to further improve air quality in the future.

“We continue to believe that an investment-led, non-charging clean air plan is the right way forward, as opposed to a charging zone.”

ENOUGH TO GO ROUND?

Lessons have to be learned. That’s the message from the RHA regarding the proliferation of clean air zones back when the Euro-6 era was dawning and now, as it eyes warily a growing appetite among local authorities for zero emission zones (ZEZ).

“Our first concern was that there were not enough Euro-6 vehicles in the market,” says Chris Ashley, the association’s policy lead on the environment and vehicles. “As time has gone on, the Euro-6 market has had time to establish itself.”

So, are lessons being learned and are the plans by at least a couple of councils to forge ahead with ZEZs revealing that more education is required?

“We just don’t have enough zero-emission vehicles,” Ashley responds. “There are a few outliers

LEARNING LESSONS: The RHA’s Chris Ashley is not shy about highlighting unrealistic council plans

I am aware of that have difficulty accepting the lessons that others learned: Oxford and Bath.”

He continues: “Bath consulted on amending their CAZ and the RHA weighed in and told them it was not realistic.

“By charging Euro-6 vehicles you incentivise a switch to zero emission vehicles and if they are not available then it’s absolutely pointless.

“The wider point is learning the lesson – allow the vehicle market to establish itself to cater for these new requirements or else you will squeeze smaller businesses.”

Logistics UK is in agreement: “Currently the market for zero tailpipe emission vans and trucks is in its infancy with challenges around increased costs and lack of infrastructure for operators, where vehicles are available to acquire,” says Logistics UK’s deputy director Michelle Gardner. “While we strongly support measures to improve air quality, ZEZs would penalise businesses and ultimately consumers.

“Euro-6 has already delivered significant improvements in air quality, so these vehicles should not be charged when vehicles are providing an essential service and delivering goods.

“At the same time, policy interventions should be targeted at reducing single passenger car journeys, which will enable more efficient freight movements and bring wider social and economic benefits.”

This is something the RHA agrees with.

“What we understand from Manchester is they have done some remodelling of their air quality profile and advances in bus technology mean they can now invest in zero emission buses and that can go a long way to reduce pollution as quickly as possible,” says Ashley.

Progress concerns

However, European movement group Clean Cities Campaign (CCC) is less happy with the delay. “We are particularly concerned about progress in Greater Manchester, given there is no such thing as a healthy level of exposure to air pollution and the city region has some of the most polluted air in the country,” explains Oliver Lord, CCC head of UK campaigns.

“We know that polluting vehicles are a huge part of the problem and evidence from other cities shows that clean air zones do work to reduce the harm people are exposed to.

“A smaller clean air zone in Manchester city centre would help to clean the air and make the city safer and healthier for everyone, especially children.”

This is not to say CCC does not understand the stress and pressure councils are under to address air pollution while also trying to support local fleet operators.

Electric Avenues

DPD says it remains on track to deliver an allelectric, final mile delivery service to 30 towns and cities by the end of this year.

Its ‘Vision 30’ plan is a key milestone in the firm achieving its aim of becoming the UK’s most sustainable parcel courier and it says it chose the 30 locations based on population size and volume of home deliveries it has there.

These places include Hull, Brighton, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Liverpool.

“This was to ensure we could make the biggest impact as quickly as possible in those larger conurbations, helping reduce emissions but also improving air quality by switching to electric vehicle-only final mile deliveries,” says Tim Jones, DPD UK director of marketing and sustainability.

“We aren’t seeing any supply issues or delays with electric vehicle orders and as of today have around 3,000 in our fleet, which will grow to 4,000 by the end of 2023.”

Lord says delays in introducing CAZs are also “the result of national governments leaving it to local authorities to mop up the mess of diesel pollution and we believe these authorities should get more support in their implementation, as well as support packages for residents and businesses”.

He goes on: “It’s sad we’re even having this debate 10 years after the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah, because we should learn that delays have consequences – the coroner’s inquiry into Ella’s death referred to the delay to London’s low emission zone playing a contributing role.”

National commitment needed

Lord adds that it is not surprising that haulage operators have concerns about a patchwork of zones popping up all over the country, with different rules and charges. He says this “speaks to the vacuum left by the UK government, which has broadly shirked responsibility in the rollout of clean air zones and left it to local authorities to pick up the pieces”.

“We hope that all roads will be clean in the future and this requires action at all levels of government to improve air quality, including a national communications campaign on clean air zones, a national vehicle scrappage and retrofit scheme targeted at those who need the most support and a clear vision for how clean air zones will evolve in future to meet climate change goals,” he adds.

Lord also says it is inevitable ZEZs will replace CAZs across the country to clean up city air faster, “as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions from road transport, which has broadly stagnated over the past few decades in the UK.

“The sooner city leaders start planning for zero emission zones and engaging with industry then the sooner we will avoid confusion, reduce costs and generate green jobs,” he argues.

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