London Low Emission Zone - The Current Scheme

The Current Scheme

The zone covers most of Greater London (with minor deviations to allow diversionary routes and facilities to turn around without entering the zone and the M25 motorway). The boundary of the zone, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, is marked by signs. The LEZ emissions standards are based on European emission standards relating to particulate matter (PM), which are emitted by vehicles, which have an effect on health. The following vehicles are not charged:

• Larger vans and minibuses that meet the Euro 3
• Lorries, buses, and coaches that meet Euro IV.
• Cars and motorcycles

Non-GB registered vehicles that meet the required LEZ standards will need to register with TfL; most compliant GB registered vehicles do not. Owners of vehicles that do not meet the above requirements have a number of options:

• Fit a filter
• Replace the vehicle
• Reorganise their fleet to only use compliant vehicles in London
• Convert to natural gas
• Pay the charge (from £100 to £200 for a 24-hour period)

The zone is monitored using Automatic Number Plate Reading Cameras (ANPR) to record number plates. Vehicles entering or moving around the zone are checked against the records of the DVLA to enable TfL to pursue owners of vehicles for which the charge has not been paid. For vehicles registered outside of Great Britain, an international debt recovery agency is used to obtain unpaid charges and fines. The scheme is operated on a day-to-day basis by IBM.