Transport for London (TfL) has said that it will not look to penalise transport operators who have non-compliant vehicles in the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) when the new Euro-4 requirements come into action in the new year.
This is providing that the operator can prove that it has already placed an order for the retrofit systems and will have them in place within 28 days.
Nick Fairholme, director of congestion charging and traffic enforcement at TfL, told CommercialMotor.com it is aware that a number of operators have encountered difficulties in obtaining a filter in time for the LEZ changes on January 3rd.
He said that TfL were not in the business of punishing firms unnecessarily and that it was happy to provide them with some degree of leniency.
"TfL will ensure that if an operator can provide evidence that they purchased a filter before January 3rd, TfL will not issue a penalty charge notice to the vehicle owner if it is driven within the zone before the filter is fitted," he stated.
Pall-Ex managing director Adam Hopcroft recently said that the LEZ is another factor which will only serve to hinder the profitability of many haulage and logistics-planning firms.
