Inspector Morse would not have approved. Britain’s first Zero Emission Zone will begin in Oxford on Monday, bringing with it a whole new set of charges for many petrol, diesel and hybrid cars.
While the boozy bobby was famed for driving his iconic, gas-guzzling red Jaguar Mark 2 around the streets of Oxford as he solved countless murder cases, the city of dreaming spires has launched a pilot scheme that will affect many motorists travelling to the middle of Oxford.
A Zero Emission Zone – or ZEZ – takes schemes such as a Clean Air Zone one stage further. Cities including London and Bristol already have Clean Air Zones in place, but the ZEZ aims to reduce inner-city air pollution even further by only allowing zero-emissions vehicles to drive in the city centre without incurring a charge.
