Drivers on London’s ULEZ roads will need to own a vehicle that passes either Euro 6 diesel standards or Euro 4 petrol standards. If a car doesn’t meet these eco-friendly regulations, drivers will be taxed a £12.50 daily fee for entering a ULEZ.  

So far, the expansion has generated £93.6 million of additional revenue through the taxation of non-compliant vehicles. 

An RAC analysis of Transport for London (TfL) figures shows that between November 2021 and June 2022, around 1.9 million journeys were made into the ULEZ every month by vehicles that didn’t fit the correct emissions standards. This resulted in £112.5m worth of revenue from drivers required to pay.

Nicholas Lyes, Head of RAC’s roads policy commented: “The expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in 2021 meant a far larger geographical area was covered by the mayor’s strict vehicle emissions standards. 

“For many, this meant a very stark choice: either replacing their vehicle with a compliant model or paying the £12.50 daily charges Failing to pay the charge wasn’t an option either as it would result in a hefty penalty charge notice.

“The expansion of the ULEZ has resulted in a much-increased revenue stream for Transport for London, notwithstanding the costs associated with introducing the larger ULEZ. Londoners living outside the current ULEZ will now worry about the prospect of further expansion, mooted to be at the end of August 2023.

Mr Lyes added: “We would encourage the mayor to take a pragmatic approach and redouble his efforts to support lower-income families and businesses with non-compliant vehicles with a targeted scrappage scheme ahead of any expansion plans.”

Read another one of our blog posts and stay up to date with the latest in road safety news. If you’re looking for a free road marking quote, click here.

At the Road Surface Treatments Association’s annual conference this month, industry experts noted that local councils are falling short where reducing carbon emissions is concerned. 

Members of the conference identified that while councils have been testing innovative approaches with trials, many have yet to commit to enduring plans to tackle the carbon crisis.

Ross Bullerwell, managing director at North Yorkshire (NY) Highways, said: “Many authorities have a strategy, but are not necessarily doing their part. In North Yorkshire, we’ve pushed the council to come up with a five-year plan, which is around holding projects to account for what they are delivering”. 

He added: “We have to make sure that as part of the strategy, as part of our design, as part of declaring the carbon emergency, we must have year-on-year plans that deliver something. Otherwise, in five years, we’ll still be doing a little trial.” 

Transitioning from trials to long-term strategies will require hard work and a change in prevailing attitudes. Sean Rooney, head of highway maintenance at Oxfordshire County Council revealed that trials are often used to “get around procurement”, and that the industry must work together to “change the attitude of people” and enable future progress. 

Stay up to speed with the latest in road safety news by checking out the Anglo Liners blog every week. Alternatively, click here for a free quote.

The total fleet number will reach 252 vehicles next year after another additional 132 are added as part of a two-year rollout. The gritters meet Euro 6 regulations, ensuring that they have the best current environmental standards for heavy-duty Cl diesel engines. 

With speeds of up to 50mph, the new vehicles are around 10mph faster than previous models, allowing a more efficient approach to road gritting. This year’s vehicles will be delivered to areas of the South and the Midlands.

Duncan Smith, National Highways’ acting executive director of operations, said: “The new vehicles are an impressive sight and this year’s rollout once again demonstrates our commitment to keeping drivers safe throughout the winter months […]

“We want everyone to travel safely on our roads and ask that drivers take extra care near gritters, leave a safe distance, overtake gritters carefully when it is safe to do so and at a reduced speed.

“When the wintry weather arrives our winter teams across the country will be ready to work around the clock to keep traffic moving.”

Including these new vehicles, National Highways now has 535 gritters available for use on our roads. Operating these are 1,300 specially trained gritter drivers. Over 280,000 tonnes of salt is also in storage, ready to be used. 

With all of these measures in place, the government-owned company aims to keep roads as efficient as possible this winter. For more news on travel conditions and the latest road safety news, be sure to keep up to date with the Anglo Liners blog. Alternatively, click here for a free quote.

The organisation leading the study is set to receive a reported £2m, which falls under the £20m allocated to zero-emission road freight trials under the DfT’s plan. Decarbonising lorries will help to build a more environmentally friendly road network across the UK.

Heavy goods vehicles are currently responsible for almost a 5th (18%) of all road CO2 emissions, despite making up just 1.2% of traffic. By 2040, all new diesel and petrol lorries in Britain are due to be banned, meaning a new system is needed to provide alternative power for these large vehicles. 

The ‘e-highway’ will involve the installation of overhead wires on up to 19 miles of the M180. The technology, similar to that which powers trains and trams, will charge a battery that has been fitted into each lorry as it’s being driven. Lorries cannot run on a single charge like electric cars, because they require too much power.

Similar plans have been trialled in Germany and Sweden on a smaller scale. If the study goes ahead, this will be the first large-scale deployment of such technology worldwide. The vehicles and their power cables could be on British roads as early as 2024.

William Wilson, CEO of Siemens Mobility Limited, said: “Investing in proven technologies like e-highways can help us go further and faster to decarbonise the UK’s transport network, and support jobs and growth to level up the country.

“By building on successful trials from other countries like Germany, our ERS consortium M180 trial will help the UK move a step closer to replacing more polluting trucks with clean, efficient electric HGVs.”

To stay up-to-date on the latest UK road safety news, make sure to check our blog each week. For a free road marking quote, head to our website, today.

Jackson Civil Engineering developed the substance using recycled aggregates and processed waste products, stating that it will help to reduce the carbon footprint of all surfacing works.

Early calculations by the company show the low carbon foamed asphalt path could create CO2 savings of up to 90 percent, when compared with a traditional hot AC20 asphalt mix.

The process was implemented in the construction of a new cycle path for Birmingham City Council. 

Phase 1 of the 2.5km trail is already complete. The remainder will soon be underway, as the firm estimates that up to 70 tonnes of CO2 could be saved throughout the entire process.

Andy Lusher, Supply Chain Manager for Jackson, said: “The cycle path provided an opportunity to look at the original design and ask ourselves how we could do this in a more carbon-friendly way. 

“We brought our supply chain together to use their expertise and come up with a solution that was truly innovative.”

As many as 30 tonnes of CO2 was saved by using ultra-low carbon Cemfree concrete. This product beds and surrounds the kerbstones alongside the cycle path. It was originally developed by DB Group and produced by Accumix Concrete.

The success of this trial scheme may encourage other companies to confidently use low-carbon concrete and asphalt, as well as finding additional sustainable products. Both of which will help when working towards the global Zero Carbon target.

Read the Anglo Liners blog for further up-to-date road safety news, or click here for a free quote.