First Low Emission Zone introduced in London
London mayor Sadiq Khan has introduced a Low Emission Bus Zone to a street that exceeded legal levels of nitrogen dioxide on 1,248 occasions in 2016.
Putney High Street missed the hourly targets on average more than three times a day last year; under EU rules the limit should not have been breached more than 18 times during the entire year.
To tackle the dangerous levels of air pollutions, the mayor has not stipulated that from today only buses that meet the toughest emission standards will be permitted to run within the Low Emission Bus Zone.
Putney is the first of 12 Low Emission Zones due to be introduced. A Brixton to Streatham zone will be added in October with 10 more due to be announced before 2020.
Sadiq Khan said, ‘London’s toxic air is an outrage and I promised to make cleaning it up one of my top priorities. Today, I’m delivering on that pledge by introducing our first ever Low Emission Bus Zone. I have asked TfL to remove the oldest, dirtiest buses from our streets and this new route, along with the 11 others we’ll be introducing, will make a big difference to the pollution caused by our public transport system. I now need other cities around the world to work with me to demand cleaner bus technology so we can phase out diesel buses altogether.’
The Low Emission Bus Zones are expected to reduce bus emissions by over 80% in the immediate areas, benefiting thousands with 172 schools located within 100 metres of the new zones.
Other zones to be added include: A12 Eastern Avenue, Lewisham to Catford, Stratford, Harringay, Camberwell to New Cross, Wandsworth to St John’s Hill, Edgware Road, Edmonton to Seven Sisters, Uxbridge Road to Shepherds Bush, and Chiswick High Road to Kensington.
