In The UK, London’s Mayor Cancels Plans For “No Emissions” Zone

[advrider]

It seems that the work of the “Blade Runners” has caused British authorities to take notice. In the UK, Mayor Sadiq Khan has reportedly canceled his plan to turn Central London into a “no exhaust” zone, where nobody, not even motorcyclists, could take an internal combustion engine without incurring an expensive fee.

Recently, we told you about the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London. Along with similarly-regulated low-emissions zones elsewhere in the UK and mainland Europe, motorists’ vehicles must meet a certain tailpipe emissions standard in these zones. Otherwise, they must pay a day-use fee to use their vehicle in ULEZ areas, or face fines—see our story here for more of an explanation of how it works. Basically, cameras scan license plates in ULEZ areas and auto-deliver tickets to drivers/riders whose machines are not up to the required emissions standard, just as speed cameras and red light cameras auto-ticket offending vehicles’ owners in North America.

In that same story, we told you about Blade Runners, the vigilante groups who vandalize the cameras used to enforce these rules.

Police say there have been around 300 incidents of camera vandalism this year, ranging from cutting of cables to outright theft of the cameras. They’ve even gone so far as to don hi-viz vests to pose as maintenance workers in their Luddite endeavors. As of August 1, London’s bobbies said there were 38 cameras with their lenses blocked out, 185 cases of cable sabotage, and 164 cameras outright stolen.

The Blade Runners have appeared in stories across the British media, and despite ramped-up police enforcement, they seem very, very determined to continue their resistance to these new traffic cameras (London’s municipal government is in the middle of aggressively expanding the ULEZ coverage). With that in mind, it is probably no shocker to see London’s mayor is now revising his “no emissions” plan for Central London.

Originally, the plan was to turn Central London into a zero-emissions zone (ZEZ) that would not actually ban internal combustion engines—instead, it would require gas- or diesel-powered vehicles to pay a fee to access the ZEZ. In other words, much air pollution would carry on, but now there would be an increased fee attached.

As per the BBC’s write-up on the issue, the plan is scrapped—for now. In reality, the timespan to achieve this has simply been lengthened:

A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan told BBC London the mayor was now focused on achieving net-zero emissions in the capital by 2030.

“The mayor is rolling out some of the most ambitious policies of any city in the world to clean up London’s air, including the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone, bringing cleaner air to five million more Londoners,” the spokesperson said.

Maybe they’re just waiting to see how this whole flap with the Blade Runners ends?

Take note that while motorcycles have often dodged emissions hassles and other traffic regulations in Europe, it seems they are all bundled up in the latest ULEZ regs, with no exemptions for bikes, as has so often been the case in the past.

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