Glasgow has become the first Scottish city to enforce a Low Emission Zone (LEZ).
From Thursday, all vehicles entering the city centre must be compliant with emission standards or face a fine.
Glasgow City Council said the policy will protect public health by tackling “unacceptably high” levels of air pollution, but opposition parties say the policy will affect livelihoods and businesses.
Number plate recognition cameras will be used to enforce the LEZ.
When a non-compliant vehicle is detected in the zone, a penalty charge notice will be issued to the registered driver.
The first phase of the scheme focused on buses and saw a year-on-year improvement in the proportion of low or zero emission buses servicing the city centre.
Councillor Angus Millar, convener for climate and transport, said: “I am proud that Glasgow has fully rolled out the first of Scotland’s low emission zones, joining hundreds of cities across Europe who have introduced similar initiatives in ensuring cleaner, more breathable air.”
He said air pollution has been in breach of legal limits for decades and “actively harmed” Glaswegians’ health, adding: “While the vast majority - up to 90% - of vehicles currently entering the city centre will be unaffected, the LEZ standards will address the small minority of vehicles which pollute the most, disproportionately creating the harmful concentrations of air pollution.”
But George Redmond, the Labour group leader for Glasgow City Council, said he had “genuine fears” about the impact the policy would have on the night-time economy in the city.
Many taxi drivers have had to purchase new vehicles that are legally compliant with the new LEZ guidance.
Redmond said: “We want an LEZ scheme that is fit and proper for the city, we have asked for a delay of 12 months that will give drivers time to prepare.
“I have genuine fears of the impact this will have on a night-time economy which is still recovering after a devastating pandemic.”
Conservative councillor Thomas Kerr said the proposals had been “rushed” and that council chiefs had not taken into consideration the impact of the pandemic.
The Tories have joined Labour in calling for a delay to the LEZ until June 2024, arguing that taxi drivers needed more time to “get themselves back on their feet”.
Kerr said: “Drivers have lost two years of income, Unite the Union is estimating around 1,000 taxi drivers could be off of our roads; that is extremely worrying.”
But campaigners believe cities “must be redesigned” to be healthier places where people are not forced to breathe in “toxic levels of air”.
Gareth Brown, chair of Healthy Air Scotland and policy and public affairs officer at Asthma + Lung UK Scotland, said: “With one in five Scots developing a lung condition like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in their lifetime, for them, air pollution can trigger life-threatening asthma attacks and flare-ups.
“Air pollution in Glasgow is shockingly 4.5x World Health Organisation levels, so it is clear that we need to make tackling air pollution a national priority with low emission zones just the start.
“Our cities must be redesigned to be far healthier places, where people can walk and cycle and not forced to breathe in toxic levels of air.”
Paul Waterson, a spokesperson for the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, commented: “The introduction of the LEZ today is concerning for a number of industry sectors, and from a licensed hospitality perspective we are deeply concerned about the negative impact this exclusion initiative will have on the hospitality and night-time economy sectors and those that supply our industry.
“As an organisation, together with our members we care greatly about creating cleaner, less-polluted city centres - however, this must be achieved in the right way, at the right time, with a fully integrated approach.”
The LEZ covers the area of the city centre bounded by the M8 motorway to the north and west, the River Clyde to the south and Saltmarket and the High Street to the east, but does not include the motorway itself.
A vehicle can only drive within an LEZ if it meets the specified emission standards, which are Euro 4 for petrol cars and vans, Euro 6 for diesel cars and vans, and Euro VI for buses, coaches and HGVs.
A national online vehicle checker by Transport Scotland is available to check for compliance with LEZ emission standards.
Motorcycles and mopeds are not included in the current LEZ schemes and no restrictions will apply.
There are some exemptions, such as for blue badge holders, and zone residents have an extra year to prepare.
Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee will enforce their LEZs next year.
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