London, UK: Food suppliers should ‘future-proof’ their fridge van fleets ahead of further clampdown on diesel vehicles operating in London, says Coolvan managing director Chris Warburton.
He urges food service companies to check that their fridge vans are Euro 6 compliant – or face big bills when operating in the capital. The Mayor of London is consulting on even more stringent measures to clean up air pollution in London.
“All new Coolvan refrigerated vans can operate in the central London Low Emission Zone without paying the T-Charge (£10 a day) – which came into effect in October – or the forthcoming ULEZ charges,” Warburton says.
“Since the introduction of the T-charge in October, we have seen a significant increase in enquiries. Our advice is to replace older fridge vans early as lead times are likely to lengthen as the April 2019 deadline approaches.”
“The new Ultra Low Emissions Zone comes into effect next spring – so food distributors operating in London effectively have less than a year to make sure they are compliant – or face a sharp increase in operating costs.
“Next April, the price of driving a non-compliant fridge van into central London will jump by at least £250 a month, which – in terms of monthly rental – is likely to be higher than the differential cost of upgrading to a Euro 6 diesel van.
“High intensity users could be looking at paying almost £400 a month just to service their customers. Across a fleet of 12 vehicles – that’s a hike of around £54,000 a year.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced that he was bringing forward plans to extend the Congestion Charge Zone and introduce a new Ultra Low Emissions Zone in central London next spring.
The Ultra Low Emissions Zone will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week within the same area as the current Congestion Charging Zone and comes into force on 8 April 2019. From this date, only vehicles which meet Euro 6 emissions standards will avoid a new, additional £12.50 daily charge.
The new charge will be applied on top of the £11.50 weekday Congestion Charge and replace the £10 Toxicity or T-Charge that currently applies to older (Euro 4) diesel vehicles and came into force last year.
Unlike the Congestion Charge and T-Charge, the new Ultra Low Emissions Zone charges will be enforced 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. Failing to pay the charge attracts a £130 penalty (£65 if paid within 14 days).
The UK government is committed to making significant improvements to urban air quality after the High Court found it in breach of its obligation to meet much tighter air quality standards. Targeting older diesel vehicles has been identified as the most effective way to improve urban air quality.
Several other UK cities – including Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton – are planning to introduce similar restrictions on older diesel vehicles operating in the urban environment, with as many as 15 local authorities preparing to follow suit. Oxford is proposing a complete ban on petrol and diesel vehicles entering the city centre from 2020.
The new Ultra Low Emissions Zone will affect an estimated 60,000 vehicles a day and as well as diesel vans – will also apply to older petrol vehicles. Proposals to extend the zone to the North and South Circular roads by 2021 are currently in consultation.
Coolvan has also developed an electric fridge van for urban use, which is exempt from both the Congestion and Ultra Low Emissions Zone charges. For some short-range suppliers operating exclusively in central London, the Nissan e-NV200 based fridge van is already cheaper to operate than its diesel rivals.
