Taxi drivers who can show they are in the process of upgrading their cars will not be fined when Glasgow’s low emission zone is expanded.
The industry has warned around 1,000 cars could be forced off the road for being non-compliant when new rules come into force in June 2023.
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Calls to delay low emission zone (LEZ) enforcement by one year to aid the taxi trade were voted down at a council committee meeting on Monday.
But now, Cllr Anna Richardson, SNP, the city’s sustainability convener, has said drivers who “demonstrate actions to make their vehicles compliant” with the LEZ will have extra time.
This will include drivers who have applied for retrofitting grants, are awaiting work to be carried out on their cabs or in the process of buying new vehicles.
She hopes the temporary exemption will balance the needs of the taxi industry with the impact of vehicle emissions on the health of Glasgow residents.
Cllr Richardson said: “If by June 2023, a taxi isn’t compliant but the driver can show that the process is underway to convert their vehicle, such as applying for a grant, we want those drivers to be able to continue to run their businesses in the meantime.
“But they would need to be able to demonstrate that the process was underway, that they were already taking action, by early 2023.
“The taxi trade has had a torrid time this past couple of years because of the pandemic and the loss of income has clearly had an impact on uptake of the retrofitting scheme.”
The next phase of the LEZ — designed to tackle air pollution in the city centre — is scheduled to come into force on May 31 but with a one year grace period for enforcement until June 2023.
Phase one of the LEZ only applied to local service buses but it is being widened so that all vehicles entering the city centre zone must meet the required emission standards to avoid fines, unless exempt.
However, figures show that by December last year just over a quarter of taxis were LEZ compliant — 395 of 1419. A total of 134 objections to the roll-out were received, with 123 from the taxi trade.
Expansion plans are set to go before the council’s city administration committee tomorrow (Thursday) for approval. They would then be sent to Scottish Ministers.
Cllr Richardson said: “Traffic emissions are on the rise again as the city recovers from the pandemic, and this is having an impact on the air we breathe.
“Whether it is the impact on cardiovascular disease and breathing conditions such as asthma, or the less obvious contribution to conditions such as dementia, diabetes or cancers, air pollution affects us all.
“I know that other cities have longer lead-in times for their LEZs but Glasgow’s situation is more pressing, not least because of the chronically poor levels of air quality in some streets.”
She added: “I hope that this offer of a time-limited and practical exemption provides the trade with the space to modernise and play its part in a cleaner and healthier city.”
The council’s environment committee had approved the original plan on Monday, despite the city’s Labour group proposing the enforcement of the zone was pushed back until June 2024.
SNP and Green councillors were in favour of progressing with the 2023 date while Labour and Tory members voted for the delay.
The Labour group’s deputy leader Eva Murray said at the meeting: “We must recognise that many of our hackney cab drivers are unable to afford a retrofitting or purchasing of new vehicles due to the decimation of the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“A delay would allow drivers to obtain vehicles that are compliant, without it we potentially face a further crisis within our city’s taxi industry.”
Scottish Government grants are available to cover 80% of the cost of exhaust treatment solutions, up to £5,000. There are also funds to meet some of the cost of converting engines to run on clean LPG fuel.
