London’s ULEZ puts hauliers between a rock and a hard place, says Road Haulage Association

8th April 2019

The Road Haulage Association says that the Mayor of London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone is punishing the very industry responsible for maintaining the economy of the nation’s capital.

Trucks not meeting the current Euro VI standards will now be fined £100 per day to deliver goods in central London. The average working life of an HGV is 12 years so for many operators replacing their Euro V trucks with the cleaner engine Euro VI models (effective since September 2014) is out of the question.

“Hauliers still running Euro V trucks are caught between a rock and a hard place,” said RHA chief executive, Richard Burnett. “Profit margins are already tight – a charge of £100 per day to deliver into London will completely wipe out their already tight profit margins and make new vehicle acquisition impossible.

“Approximately 188 thousand HGVs deliver into London each year – many making daily deliveries – but only about 50 percent meet the latest emission standards. If they are priced off London’s streets then the businesses they service will in turn have no choice but to increase their prices. It’s a lose, lose situation.

“We sincerely hope that London hauliers unable to replace their older vehicles will not be footing the bill used to fund the Mayor’s scrappage scheme set up to help charities and smaller businesses to switch to lower emission vehicles.”

-ENDS-