Glasgow has become the first low-emission zone (Lez) in Scotland.
The scheme was first introduced in 2018 for buses only. Glasgow City Council said this had “seen a year-on-year improvement in the proportion of low or zero-emission buses servicing the city centre”.
Lez has been designed to address bad air quality, which frequently reaches dangerous and unlawful levels in many Scottish streets.
Friends of the Earth Scotland ranked Glasgow’s Hope Street as Scotland’s most polluted street in 2019, for example. Before the pandemic, nitrogen dioxide levels on Hope Street typically exceeded the safe regulatory limit by 50 per cent.
These figures decreased throughout lockdowns and after Lez was implemented for the most polluting buses.
What is Glasgow’s Lez scheme?
From June 1, vehicles that do not comply with emission requirements will no longer be allowed in some areas of Glasgow city centre. Vehicle owners risk daily fines of several hundred pounds if they do not meet the requirements.
The scheme stretches between the Saltmarket/High Street to the east, the river Clyde to the south, and the M8 motorway to the north and west.
The M8 is not, however, part of the Lez.
At all access locations, Glasgow City Council has placed signage and road markings. Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras are being set up to enforce the initiative.
The council had been considering ways to implement such a zone as early as 2009 to lessen the number of vehicles in the city centre.
Which vehicles are allowed to enter Glasgow’s Lez?
In general, petrol vehicles registered after 2006 and diesel-powered cars registered after September 2015 adhere to the required standards.
People can verify if their car is compliant on a website set up by Transport Scotland.
Those with blue badges, motorcycles, mopeds, and emergency vehicles will all be exempt from the scheme.
Local residents who live in the zone have until May 31, 2024 to comply. Some Glasgow cabs have also been given an extension.
What are the penalties involved in Glasgow’s Lez?
A £60 charge will be levied against the owner of any non-compliant vehicle found in the Lez.
With each successive violation, the fine will double, reaching a maximum of £480 for cars and light goods vehicles and £960 for buses and heavy-duty vehicles.
The maximum fine will be assessed for each day the vehicle is in the zone once that amount has been reached.
If there are no breaches for 90 days, the penalty is restored to £60.
Glasgow City Council says the amount of the fine won't start to rise until after the registered keeper of the car has received the first penalty charge notice.
If paid within 14 days, all penalties will be reduced by half.
What other places have a scheme similar to Glasgow’s Lez?
As reported by motorway.co.uk, the Scottish government introduced Lezs in its four biggest cities: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, to reduce air pollution in highly populated areas and drive the country’s goal to achieve carbon net zero by 2045.
Aberdeen, Dundee, and Edinburgh will start enforcing the fine system for vehicle non-compliance in the summer of 2024.
Here’s a full list of the UK’s clean air or Low Emission Zones:
- London
- Brighton
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Bath
- Bradford
- Portsmouth
- Manchester
- Newcastle
- Norwich
- Nottingham
- Oxford
- Sheffield
- Aberdeen
- Dundee
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow
