London vehicle charges

Back on form Kennine but here is the UK list with Port Talbot at the top and Glasgow before London.

see here

I see no reason why the centre of any city which is badly polluted should not have restrictions put on Fossil fuel vehicles. 

London was on the news this morning as demanding £21.50 per day just to take certain vehicles into the city ( the C/charge and the T/charge)  hence the reason for the o/p.  No other cities in the UK are so mercenary.

I therefore believe that London, the largest city, would be the best place to trial a "No Fossil fuel ban in the city centre".  But if other smaller city centres throughout the UK adopted a similar trial, I don't have a problem with that. 

K 

There's been an article on teletext news about the number of people who die due to pollution, with air quality being responsible for two thirds. That's about 6 million every year. Most of these are in poorer countries, Somalia and Bangladesh being amongst the worst. I don't know how accurate the report is.

The UK has better record than many countries around the world when it comes to pollution. While I'm not against efforts to improve that even if we banned private internal combustion engine cars entirely from London it would make little difference to world pollution.

Whilst I tend to agree that whatever they do in London or elsewhere in the UK won't make a difference globally it could help a lot of Londoners if it improves the quality of air locally. At least in London it's pretty easy to get around on public transport although some of that is not that efficient pollution wise!

David

If the air quality in London is so bad, I've just added it to my places never to visit again list....  I can see the list getting bigger as the years go by.... hey ho..   

"At least in London it's pretty easy to get around on public transport although some of that is not that efficient pollution wise!"

Not true, for many years now all buses operated in London have to be fitted with some form of exhaust after treatment system or CRT system to reduce particulates and other emissions. The bus service in London is unique in the UK as it's the only regulated one in the country and run by private companies who have to tender for the 5 year contracts to run the routes for TFL. A part of that contract will specify a vehicle profile ( Age, Euro Emission standard etc) this is why London has the largest number of new and nearly vehicles in the country.  

Revenue goes to TFL, the companies are paid per mile run in service and for adhering to the timetable. Any services that do not reach the targets are fined by TFL and continued poor performance can result in the contract be taken away from the company.

London and its pollution is not just about older, so called less efficient vehicles on its roads. It has over six million more people living there than the next largest U.K. city, (Birmingham), London sits in a bowl of land surrounded by hills, which gives it it's own micro climate. All the vast tall towers and structures further affect wind flow, and create small pockets of dense areas of pollution. Then there is the wood burning stove issue, stoves are very efficient if all that is burnt on them is well seasoned and clean wood. But let's face it, folks are going to burn whatever is cheap if they can. 

On the plus side, spending on local public transport is probably more in London than anywhere else in the country by area, but it has to be funded somehow.

I view London as a lifestyle choice, there are some fantastic things about living in London, there are some downsides to living in London. It is such a special case that those who choose to benefit from living and working there, with its better salaries, its vibrant culture, having close access to major events, theatres etc.... will have a price to pay, be it paying to try and keep the pollution at as low a level as possible, or paying with possibly a shorter life. Individuals have to make that choice.

If they were really serious & committed(London's authorities) they'd ban all polluting vehicles outright. They want money for coming into London whilst not stopping the spenders so it's the Politicians favourite that wins the day-'green tax', hypocrisy at its best

My daughter lives in Putney and she comments on how different the air quality is when she is down here on the south coast.

I bet she does CY. I did a trip to the Isles of Scilly some years ago. One of my memories was landing back at Penzance, hardly an air pollution hotspot, but the different "land" smells hit you like a wall.