Euro 5 to be mandatory on all frequent bus services in less than a year
Brighton is to have a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) – starting on January 1, 2015.
Last Tuesday (January 14), Brighton & Hove City Council’s Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee declared a LEZ in Castle Square, North Street and Western Road as far as the junction with Holland Road, with the aim of ensuring that all PSVs meet, as a minimum the Euro 5 emissions standard. There will however, be some ‘licensed exemptions.’
Based on the Oxford scheme, these are set to include: A licensed exemption for low frequency services which enter the zone less frequently than 25 times per week; A temporary licensed exemption for a replacement bus due for example to a bus breakdown; and A temporary licensed exemption for buses which do not meet the standard as at January 1, 2015 but which have an agreed replacement date with a new or retrofitted bus that meets the emission standards.
The council said that with areas of the city currently exceeding national and EU limits for levels of nitrogen dioxide, there is potential for the authority to be fined for non compliance with these limits. It is hoped the introduction of the LEZ will reduce the likelihood of noncompliance fines.
The operation of the LEZ will be reviewed and reported back to Committee 18 months after the start of the scheme, by which time tailpipe emissions data should be available for the first full year.
For the full story, read this week’s issue of Coach & Bus Week.
