London Mayor Sadiq Khan has done something daring to tackle air pollution in his city. First, he experimented with an Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), with an area designated as a congestion charging area about 25 years ago. This experiment was launched in April 2019, and the rules were aimed at discouraging high-polluting motor vehicles from entering the area, with the imposition of penalties for violations. From October 25 this year, after two years of experimentation, the mayor extended the ULEZ to an 18 times larger area; the scheme is now known as Extended Low Emission Zone (ELEZ).
There's little doubt that Londoners are now adopting one of the most radical anti-pollution policies in the world. The government estimates the number of people killed by long-term exposure to air pollution in the UK to be as high as 30,000 a year. Reports suggest that many other cities in the UK are now planning similar low emission zones.
Under the new scheme, motor vehicles, except larger buses, lorries and specialised heavy vehicles, run by petrol and diesel and older than 15 years, are effectively banned from entering the ELEZ. Entering this restricted zone will warrant a fee of GBP 12.50 a day, and failure to pay will attract a GBP 160 penalty. Transport for London, the body entrusted to regulate and oversee transport in London, estimates that about 138,000 vehicles are likely to be affected. Official estimates suggest that four out of every five cars in these areas are already compliant with emission limits. Besides introducing penalties for non-compliant vehicles, the city authority has announced grants for small businesses and the disabled to encourage scrapping non-compliant cars and motorcycles. These grants are separate from Britain's national initiative to subsidise people switching over to electric cars.
To clean up London's air, Mayor Sadiq Khan's transport strategy is to try to achieve 80 percent of trips across London through walking, cycling, and mass transport by 2040—the ULEZ experiment and ELEZ are parts of his long-term vision of the city by 2040. It's a hugely controversial move, as the Conservatives, who are in charge of the country, oppose it saying the move will adversely affect small- and medium-sized businesses and harm post-pandemic economic recovery. On the other hand, the Green Party alleges that it falls short of the needs as, according to them, one in 10 roads in London will remain toxic after the expansion.
The original Congestion Charging Zone was introduced to curb traffic congestion in the city, while the low emission zones are more focussed on cutting air pollution. As a result, the ULEZ experiment did not cut traffic in a significant way—rather residents of the inner city switched over to low-polluting vehicles. Official figures show that ahead of the introduction of ULEZ, the number of cleaner vehicles in central London jumped from 39 percent in 2017 to 80 percent in 2020. Roadside levels of nitrogen oxide (NO2) fell by 44 percent. Drivers are still liable to pay a congestion charge of GBP 15 a day for driving through central London. Therefore, driving costs in central London have become too exorbitant, making it three times costlier than travelling by underground and overground trains and five times costlier than the day-long unlimited bus journeys.
About 700 cameras, capable of reading the registration numbers and detecting non-compliant, older polluting vehicles, have been strategically placed in the city, and payments are taken online. Introducing the scheme, the city authority has spent about GBP 100 million, and it is expected to make GBP 1.9 million per day. The funds generated through the scheme are expected to be put back into transport schemes.
A few weeks ago, we heard Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Md Atiqul Islam calling for imposing additional tax on vehicles that ply the roads in "elite areas" like Gulshan and Baridhara. In a 24-hour news cycle, this story did not last long in the fast-paced media, despite some angry reactions among netizens. His proposal seemed to be an attempt to imitate some successful schemes put in place in some Western cities, including London. Unfortunately, his language was divisive and offensive to millions of his constituents who reside outside his so-called elite neighbourhoods. When getting into such offices no longer requires credible and proper elections, such ill-judged comments coming from those occupying the offices are perhaps not that shocking.
The mayor's comments suggest that he was more concerned about controlling traffic numbers in the neighbourhoods of the rich and famous than curbing Dhaka's notorious air pollution. Even if his objective was to ease traffic congestion in the city, he should have focused more on helping businesses than on providing relief to the rich and famous who live in his elite bubble. Restricting public transports in Gulshan and Banani, except a few special ones authorised by the DNCC—a scheme introduced by his predecessor Annisul Huq—may have discouraged some people from entering those areas, but whether it has succeeded in cutting the number of cars or the rate of air pollution is debatable. When London introduced its Congestion Charging Zone, the aim was to ease traffic in business districts and not the poshest suburb of Hampstead.
When Bangladesh's much-awaited mass transit systems—the metro rail and rapid bus transportation routes—become operational, we will have a great opportunity to opt for tougher measures to phase out high-emitting vehicles and cut traffic numbers. Such measures should not be discriminatory, a privilege for some and a disadvantage to the rest. Learning from other megacities are always welcome, but applying those lessons should benefit all.
There's little doubt that Londoners are now adopting one of the most radical anti-pollution policies in the world. The government estimates the number of people killed by long-term exposure to air pollution in the UK to be as high as 30,000 a year. Reports suggest that many other cities in the UK are now planning similar low emission zones.
Under the new scheme, motor vehicles, except larger buses, lorries and specialised heavy vehicles, run by petrol and diesel and older than 15 years, are effectively banned from entering the ELEZ. Entering this restricted zone will warrant a fee of GBP 12.50 a day, and failure to pay will attract a GBP 160 penalty. Transport for London, the body entrusted to regulate and oversee transport in London, estimates that about 138,000 vehicles are likely to be affected. Official estimates suggest that four out of every five cars in these areas are already compliant with emission limits. Besides introducing penalties for non-compliant vehicles, the city authority has announced grants for small businesses and the disabled to encourage scrapping non-compliant cars and motorcycles. These grants are separate from Britain's national initiative to subsidise people switching over to electric cars.
To clean up London's air, Mayor Sadiq Khan's transport strategy is to try to achieve 80 percent of trips across London through walking, cycling, and mass transport by 2040—the ULEZ experiment and ELEZ are parts of his long-term vision of the city by 2040. It's a hugely controversial move, as the Conservatives, who are in charge of the country, oppose it saying the move will adversely affect small- and medium-sized businesses and harm post-pandemic economic recovery. On the other hand, the Green Party alleges that it falls short of the needs as, according to them, one in 10 roads in London will remain toxic after the expansion.
The original Congestion Charging Zone was introduced to curb traffic congestion in the city, while the low emission zones are more focussed on cutting air pollution. As a result, the ULEZ experiment did not cut traffic in a significant way—rather residents of the inner city switched over to low-polluting vehicles. Official figures show that ahead of the introduction of ULEZ, the number of cleaner vehicles in central London jumped from 39 percent in 2017 to 80 percent in 2020. Roadside levels of nitrogen oxide (NO2) fell by 44 percent. Drivers are still liable to pay a congestion charge of GBP 15 a day for driving through central London. Therefore, driving costs in central London have become too exorbitant, making it three times costlier than travelling by underground and overground trains and five times costlier than the day-long unlimited bus journeys.
About 700 cameras, capable of reading the registration numbers and detecting non-compliant, older polluting vehicles, have been strategically placed in the city, and payments are taken online. Introducing the scheme, the city authority has spent about GBP 100 million, and it is expected to make GBP 1.9 million per day. The funds generated through the scheme are expected to be put back into transport schemes.
A few weeks ago, we heard Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Md Atiqul Islam calling for imposing additional tax on vehicles that ply the roads in "elite areas" like Gulshan and Baridhara. In a 24-hour news cycle, this story did not last long in the fast-paced media, despite some angry reactions among netizens. His proposal seemed to be an attempt to imitate some successful schemes put in place in some Western cities, including London. Unfortunately, his language was divisive and offensive to millions of his constituents who reside outside his so-called elite neighbourhoods. When getting into such offices no longer requires credible and proper elections, such ill-judged comments coming from those occupying the offices are perhaps not that shocking.
The mayor's comments suggest that he was more concerned about controlling traffic numbers in the neighbourhoods of the rich and famous than curbing Dhaka's notorious air pollution. Even if his objective was to ease traffic congestion in the city, he should have focused more on helping businesses than on providing relief to the rich and famous who live in his elite bubble. Restricting public transports in Gulshan and Banani, except a few special ones authorised by the DNCC—a scheme introduced by his predecessor Annisul Huq—may have discouraged some people from entering those areas, but whether it has succeeded in cutting the number of cars or the rate of air pollution is debatable. When London introduced its Congestion Charging Zone, the aim was to ease traffic in business districts and not the poshest suburb of Hampstead.
When Bangladesh's much-awaited mass transit systems—the metro rail and rapid bus transportation routes—become operational, we will have a great opportunity to opt for tougher measures to phase out high-emitting vehicles and cut traffic numbers. Such measures should not be discriminatory, a privilege for some and a disadvantage to the rest. Learning from other megacities are always welcome, but applying those lessons should benefit all.
(Published in the Daily Star on October 27, 2021)
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