Isra-Mart srl:Mayor Boris slammed over "hazy" air quality strategy

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-Mart srl news:

Campaigners today branded London mayor Boris Johnson's plans to introduce new air quality standards a "backward step", despite promises to take the most polluting taxis off the road and slash dangerous emissions by up to a third.

Just days after an eight-strong fleet of hydrogen-powered buses took to London's streets, Johnson unveiled further measures to tackle the 80 per cent of airborne particle pollution (PM10) created by road transport in the city.

Under the new Air Quality Strategy, published yesterday, black cabs that are more than 15 years old will from 2012 have their licences revoked, removing approximately 1,200 taxis from the capital's roads.

In addition, the remainder of the fleet will be required to pass two MOT tests each year, while all prospective cabbies will have to take a mandatory eco-driving course on top of 'the knowledge'.

The Mayor's Office also announced the formation of a new £1m fund designed to encourage taxi owners to upgrade to electric or hybrid vehicles, and outlined plans to retrofit buses to meet EU standards for Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and tighten the rules governing London's low emissions zone (LEZ) to cover NOx emissions and include vans and minibuses.

Johnson has targeted improving London's air quality ahead of the Olympics, but has been hurried into action by the threat of European legal action following consistent breaches of EU air quality standards.

The new strategy builds on a number of previous interventions, including recent trials of spraying dust suppressants on major roads and plans for new routemaster buses that promise to be 40 per cent more fuel efficient than conventional diesel buses.

The Mayor's Office said that taken together, these policies should reduce PM10 emissions in central London by 13 per cent by 2011 and a third by 2015, compared with 2008 levels. NOx emissions should also fall by 35 per cent by 2015, bringing London within legal air quality limits by 2011.

"This forms part of a robust package of long-term measures to progressively clean up London's air," Johnson said.