Skip to main content

London council to trial diesel-based parking surcharge

As part of its drive to create a greener, healthier city, Westminster City Council in London is set to trial emissions-based charging for diesel cars parking within Marylebone. In a pilot programme to be introduced from 3 April 2017, the charge for pay-to-park bays during normal parking hours will be raised specifically within F zone for diesel cars, some of the heaviest of polluting vehicles. This will apply to visitors into Marylebone, with resident permits remaining unchanged. The surcharge will ad
January 30, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
As part of its drive to create a greener, healthier city, Westminster City Council in London is set to trial emissions-based charging for diesel cars parking within Marylebone.

In a pilot programme to be introduced from 3 April 2017, the charge for pay-to-park bays during normal parking hours will be raised specifically within F zone for diesel cars, some of the heaviest of polluting vehicles. This will apply to visitors into Marylebone, with resident permits remaining unchanged.

The surcharge will add 50 per cent to the current rate of £4.90 per hour in F Zone. Customers are currently able to Park and Pay per minute up to a maximum of 240 minutes (4 hours), meaning charges will be 8p per minute in real terms and 12p per minute for diesels.

Marylebone suffers some of the highest pollution levels in London, given the area’s location, mix of land uses, building density and type, and number of vehicle trips. The ‘polluter pays’ principle aims to reduce harmful vehicle emissions in Marylebone and any money raised will be spent on initiatives to promote sustainable transport.

Marylebone’s location between major transport routes results in a complex urban air quality problem with levels of nitrogen dioxide that exceed recommended health levels and very high levels of particulate matter.

The council believes the pilot surcharge for diesel will also provide valuable insight into how the policy works practically and whether there are positive behavioural changes from it that could be replicated elsewhere.

In 2017, Westminster will also see several green initiatives come into effect in the low emission neighbourhood which will help improve air quality. This includes freight consolidation and a new EV infrastructure with charging points upgraded and increased by up to 20 new outlets, including some rapid chargers. The council is also encouraging more sustainable transport.

Related Content

  • April 2, 2012
    Nissan big turn on to charge up cities across Europe
    Cities all over Britain and Europe will be invited to embrace electric driving and encourage their communities to support Nissan’s campaign – ‘The Big Turn On’ – in a bid to win 30 quick chargers from the company. The quick chargers are part of a wider initiative from Nissan to get one million consumers switched onto electric driving, in just 100 days. The basis of the campaign is to engage the public and support their city’s bid to win a new electric driving infrastructure from Nissan. These chargers can r
  • March 20, 2017
    Ricardo launches vehicle emissions monitoring service
    UK-based Ricardo Energy & Environment, working with technology partner OPUS Inspection, has launched a vehicle emissions monitoring service for the measurement of emissions from vehicles on UK roads. Installed at locations of interest, the system records driving emissions in a completely non-intrusive manner from each passing vehicle, including nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and ammonia. The system can also be linked to automatic number plate recogniti
  • June 4, 2014
    SCANaCAR and VideoBadge counter parking’s prickly problems.
    Colin Sowman discovers how the latest systems can boost productivity and reduce conflict in parking enforcement. Parking enforcement is something of a ‘Cinderella’ service for local authorities: while necessary to keep the roads open and the traffic flowing, it is an expensive operation and can be loss-making. It is also labour intensive and parking enforcement officers are routinely verbally abused and sometimes physically attacked. Some authorities are now looking to automate parking enforcement in orde
  • May 24, 2023
    City of Milan senses change in the air with Bloomberg Philanthropies
    30 new air quality sensors will measure pollution on road to zero-emission plan