TfL to offer C-charge discount for Euro 5 vehicles
Date: 13 August 2007
Transport for London (TfL) is to reward freight haulage companies that operate Euro 5 vehicles by charging them less for the city's congestion charge.
In proposals released on Friday (August 10th), commercial operators will continue to pay £8 except for those operating Euro 5 vehicles, who will pay £6. This could bring firms savings of up to £520 per year, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) notes.
The discount will be available for one year for HGVs (until October 2009), and until 2012 for vans. In 2012, Euro 5 will be mandatory for all new vans.
The FTA's Gordon Telling said: "Notwithstanding our long-held view that commercial vehicles should not be part of the congestion charge at all, we are delighted with today's proposals.
"We believe that they offer the right encouragement to commercial operators whilst discouraging unnecessary use of private cars, thereby reducing congestion. We see the holding of the standard charge at £8 as an acknowledgement of the vital role that commercial operators fulfil in feeding and clothing Londoners as well as creating and maintaining the very fabric of the city itself."
He noted, however, that the FTA was disappointed that the discount had not been introduced when the group first suggested it in 2005. If it had been, more companies would have bought Euro 4 and 5 trucks.
Also, the group wants to see a lowering of fleet scheme threshold, which would ease the financial and administrative burden on logistics companies with fewer than ten vehicles.
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