First council to introduce a surcharge for owning a diesel engined car?

[vxh26]

From Monday June 15th, Islington council in London is introducing a £96 annual surcharge on resident permits for diesel vehicles to protect residents from the health risks associated with diesel emissions.

 

Diesel emissions have been linked to cancer, heart and lung damage, in addition to a range of other health issues. The World Health Organisation has classified diesel emissions as carcinogenic (to cause cancer) to humans.

 

Soon to become the norm?

[skomaz]

Don't know really... Islington are so anti car it doesn't surprise me but not sure how many others will follow... Personally I hope not as its a knee jerk reaction rather than being thoroughly thought through. After all the majority of traffic in Islington will be non-residents travelling through...

[fabiamk2SE]

They seem to forget theres only so many of them around because the government were pushing diesels only a few years back.

Its a joke.

[Rexob]

Soon to become the norm?

ohh yes

 

They seem to forget theres only so many of them around because the government were pushing diesels only a few years back.

Its a joke.

your so right  and this is typical of the government

[Ad Lav]

Boosting income by scaremongering or is it actually that bad?

I know I'd rather be sat behind my diesel Touran than an A reg double decker bus in traffic.

Sort out the older diesel cars - lorries and buses in traffic kick out more crap than cars surely!

[Phil-E]

If they really cared about getting polluting vehicles out of city centres then they would introduce a similar scheme to Germany and their Umweltplakette (Environment Placket).

 

You have 3 colours Red, Yellow and Green. Depending on the emissions etc of your car you get the corresponding colour (Red being the worst). If your vehicle is too bad/old then you simply don't get one.

 

Then certain cities and areas have zones. Some allow all the colours and some only Yellow or Green or just Green. You then get fined if caught in a zone that you're not allowed in.

 

The plackets cost about 8 euros to buy and last the life of the vehicle.

 

Phil

[fabiamk2SE]

Boosting income by scaremongering or is it actually that bad?

I know I'd rather be sat behind my diesel Touran than an A reg double decker bus in traffic.

Sort out the older diesel cars - lorries and buses in traffic kick out more crap than cars surely!

But then theyd have to spend their money, and not gain income off everyone else

[Ootohere]

http://stjohnstreet.co.uk/opinion-hypocrisy-and-the-diesel-surcharge

Edited 15 June, 2015 by goneoffSKi

[ElectricShepherd]

Regardless of whether your diesel is equipped with a DPF? 

[XLBaconDoubleCheese]

Boosting income by scaremongering or is it actually that bad?

I know I'd rather be sat behind my diesel Touran than an A reg double decker bus in traffic.

Sort out the older diesel cars - lorries and buses in traffic kick out more crap than cars surely!

Suspect you'll struggle to find any bus remotely that old and unmodified in London now with the LEZ.

[Aspman]

It's just an excuse.

 

There will be another excuse along shortly to put up charges on petrol cars.

[Richf]

Regardless of whether your diesel is equipped with a DPF? 

 

 

yes because DPF's dont solve the problem of air quality

[vxh26]

I believe that Paris has already announced plans to ban diesel engined cars within the next five years? I'm not sure whether this applies to buses, lorries and vans. Boris Johnson has said that he will do the same for London but he will probably have lost interest in that by now anyhow.

 

I can't believe the extent to which people will attribute such plans to being just about revenue earning; it probably costs so much to administer that it is revenue neutral at best.

 

Many years ago, a Vauxhall Motors fuel system R&D specialist told me that the Government's promotion of diesel over petrol was crazy from an environmental perspective. This has been borne out by the largely unsuccessful subsequent efforts to clean up pollution from diesel engines. He said that the probably well intentioned policy was being diverted by vested interests in the commercial vehicle community.

[Richf]

I believe that Paris has already announced plans to ban diesel engined cars within the next five years?

 

 

There is a ban on the most polluting diesel vehicles

 

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/paris-moves-ban-most-polluting-vehicles-its-roads

 

The cynic in me thinks this has as much to do with boosting flagging French car sales as addressing air quality though

[vxh26]

If only we had a UK motor manufacturing industry :(

 

Or in fact any industry at all other than the gambling and loans industry (aka Financial Services)

 

Seriously, we did have our own nationwide scrappage scheme here just a few years ago.  We now have the disgraceful Personal Contract Plan which is designed purely to encourage people to buy a new car every three years.

[skinnyman]

I know I'd rather be sat behind my diesel Touran than an A reg double decker bus in traffic.

Sort out the older diesel cars

 

I'd be in favour of this but that's from a purely selfish point of view.  I know my car isn't exactly a saint when it comes to emissions so that's why I pay the top tax band every year. I don't mind to be honest but what does niggle me is when I'm sat behind an older diesel vehicle (or a more modern remapped vehicle) that throws out a plume of dirty black smoke in front of me.  Sometimes it's necessary to put the air onto recirculate to avoid breathing it all in.  I know they'll be paying way less than half the amount I do in RFL and this does grate somewhat. 

 

What would suit me better  - and as I said it's purely selfish - is a system where the RFL is abolished and the tax goes onto the fuel we actually use or that after three years the individual car is put into a band dependent on what it actually chucks out of the rear rather than what it did when new. 

 

Just a thought....

[Ootohere]

re post #15,

The UK does manage to give some employment in the Motor Manufacturing Industry,

knock out a few new passenger vehicles, HGV's, Buses, some Heavy Plant and the likes.

 

http://bbc.co.uk/news/business-30945288

 

As to Manufacturer Financed deals be it Lease, Fleet, PCP , or Cash & Bank Financed new car sales, many cars must be back into the used car trade after the end of the agreement,

and if the price of used cars drops then that surely is a good thing for used car buyers.

http://bbc.co.uk/news/business-30715469

Edited 15 June, 2015 by goneoffSKi

[Ad Lav]

Tbh get rid of the crappy old busses and lorries and we'd see a massive decrease in air pollution.

I know boats, planes and the like cause a lot of pollution but starting with buses and hgvs everywhere, not just cities would be a good start.

Hell, reduce traffic and it'd be better! Lol

[XLBaconDoubleCheese]

Tbh get rid of the crappy old busses and lorries and we'd see a massive decrease in air pollution.

I know boats, planes and the like cause a lot of pollution but starting with buses and hgvs everywhere, not just cities would be a good start.

Hell, reduce traffic and it'd be better! Lol

 

The vast majority I see are less than 10 years old, our oldest bus at work is a 2005ish. Even the 58 plate Enviros we have to go into Oxford have been modified to reduce the emissions so they can enter the city. The only old ones on the road unmodified are school buses because they're used for 2 miles a day and dont make enough or do enough miles to warrant anything new.

 

I cant remember the last time I saw a old Lorry on the road, they're all 57/58/59 plates or newer when I see them. Even my mrs Uncle who runs his own skip company has a 57 plate truck that runs with ad blue for reduced emissions. 

[JohnMcL7]

I believe that Paris has already announced plans to ban diesel engined cars within the next five years? I'm not sure whether this applies to buses, lorries and vans. Boris Johnson has said that he will do the same for London but he will probably have lost interest in that by now anyhow.

 

I can't believe the extent to which people will attribute such plans to being just about revenue earning; it probably costs so much to administer that it is revenue neutral at best.

 

Many years ago, a Vauxhall Motors fuel system R&D specialist told me that the Government's promotion of diesel over petrol was crazy from an environmental perspective. This has been borne out by the largely unsuccessful subsequent efforts to clean up pollution from diesel engines. He said that the probably well intentioned policy was being diverted by vested interests in the commercial vehicle community.

 

There's been a few programs recently regarding diesels and Nitrous Oxide emissions which have made similar comments about the government getting it badly wrong with respect to diesels but they're stuck in an awkward position because they encouraged people to buy diesels so they can't immediately reverse the VED cuts as they've been advised to.

 

John

[Ootohere]

NO2

Nitric Oxide & Nitrogen Dioxide i believe.

[Laurie61]

I am just a bit surprised this is being introduced piecemeal rather than a decree from Boris, or has this been thought about and its considered more likely to be implemented without significant backlash from diesel owners if done borough by borough. ? A bit surprised it's even legal to penalise cars with mot's and legally for sale in UK.  

[Tim1631]

How Will the money protect people as stated in the first post?

Edited 16 June, 2015 by Tim1631

[Laurie61]

How Will the money protect people as stated in the first post?

 

Good point, I don't see how it can ? To my mind you either use funds to remove pollutants from local area by some type of atmospheric scrubber or deter people from using diesel powered transport. For the former the tech does not exist and for the latter the amount of £1.85 a week will have no deterrent affect whatsoever. So this is actually a fund raising excise by local council who do not want to be seen raising rates by much or at all and see this health issue as a way of introducing an extra back door tax.        

[Ootohere]

Simple enough these days to have a drive over and no need to stop Weigh Bridge as you exit an Area in any Passenger Vehicle and set the 'Road Tax' 

to the Vehicles weight and divided by passengers in the vehicle.

You can pay by permit / pass pre purchased as with Congestion Charge or now that there are no Paper Tax Discs, 

ANPR and invoice the Registered Keeper.

 

If people want to pay the extra expense of running & parking larger vehicles in residential areas then fair enough.

 

The VED now is not a fair system, and until dropped and the full Tax / Duty is on fuel used, 

and then road space required to park it will stay that way.

VED Free and low VED vehicles are a joke really as to contributing to the countries taxes and yet still 

clogging up roads and parking places in congested cities.

 

As to taxing polluting passenger cars off the road, that only will ever affect the 'Less Wealth Hard Working Families and Individuals'.

Edited 16 June, 2015 by goneoffSKi