Low Emission Zone Glasgow

I am all for saving the planet and do my very best to ensure both my home and clinic are as eco friendly as possible (cleaning products, needle supplies, PPE recycling etc) but this whole Low Emission Zone in Glasgow city centre, that is being enforced from the 1st of June 2023, was stressing me out a bit and patients were starting to ask questions I couldn’t answer… so I did some reading and digging and thought I’d share my findings on Glasgow's Low Emission Zone and how it will impact you.

Purpose of the Low Emission Zone Glasgow

This zone is designed to help reduce pollution in the city centre and I do think its an amazing idea, not sure I 100% agree with the execution or or if it will just drive more folks OUT of the city to the surrounding areas and therefore simply MOVE the problem areas rather than improving the public transport infrastructure. The low emission zone does already apply to commercial vehicles such as busses and taxis etc I believe, while for us individuals who do NOT live within the Low Emission Zone takes effect from the 1st of June 2023. It is a daily fine of £60 (compared to London's 12.50!), which is reduced for prompt payment. The fine is for every day you enter the zone if your vehicle doesn't meet the minimum requirements. If you live in the low emission zone you have until 2024.

My understanding is that it is capped, but that there are potentially additional fine if you go in again over a certain period and I presume it’ll be like a speeding ticket (not that I’d know 😇😇😇 ) and take a few weeks to arrive, so potentially a WHOLE lot of fines to be paid by time you are aware - as ever KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

I like to try make things as easy as possible for others, and of course most especially my patients!! so below is more information on how you can quickly and easily check if your vehicle meets the minimum requirements and as such avoid the risk of fines/charges.

How to check your cars emissions for the Low Emission Zone in Glasgow.

I went onto the Glasgow.gov site first and foremost and quite honestly didn’t find it all that helpful. Next I found the English version where you can simply pop your car registration plate into their form and they tell you where you can go for free or if it’ll be charged (https://vehiclecheck.drive-clean-air-zone.service.gov.uk/vehicle_checkers/enter_details).

I didn’t find the ‘check my car’ option on the Glasgow City council website to be of much use, essentially telling me my car ‘should be fine but do check your log book’ wasn’t good enough for me, and while I was doing the research I was in clinic and didn’t have access to my logbook.. roll on a quick google search!!!!

And I discovered that if we go on the DVLA site you can enter your car registration number and it gives you a wee summary of your vehicle, including the needed Euro rating.

Use this link to enter your car registration plate and you'll see your car rating:

Here is a screen dump of my wee car info from the above link. The EURO STATUS is the important thing for the LEZ:

My wee car is a euro 6, and cars have to be a minimum of Euro 4..

This initially confused me slightly as diesel engines have to be a Euro 6 so I therefore WRONGLY assumed the fewer the emissions the lower the number – this is wrong… its the higher the number

Emission standards for LEZs in Scotland have been set nationally - these are:

• Euro 4 for petrol vehicles • Euro 6 for diesel vehicles • Euro IV for heavy duty petrol vehicles such as buses/coaches and HGVs • Euro VI for heavy duty diesel vehicles such as buses/coaches and HGVs Vehicles which have been appropriately modified or retrofitted to meet or exceed these emission standards will also be permitted entry to LEZs in Scotland.

taken from https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=23026

If you are interested in more information on Euro ratings you can read more here

Vehicle Exemptions for the Low Emission Zone.

And there are exemptions e.g. if you have a blue badge you are exempt from the charges, but I couldn’t see how they worked that and not sure if you’ll have to go through an appeals process – but honestly don’t know this for sure as yet.

I believe that for the vast majority of petrol/hybrid and of course electric cars it’ll be fine, but perhaps a bit harder if you have an older car or diesel.

Where is the Low Emission Zone Glasgow?

The LEZ in Glasgow covers what I visualise as the ‘square’ of the city centre, from under Kingston bridge, down to the clydeside, across to high street and across the top of the city running inside the M8. There is a full list of every street affected also available here

Image taken directly from https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/LEZ (i claim no rights for this image)

Obviously the clinic is within this zone, and I must confess I am a wee bitty concerned about how it might impact you gorgeous patients coming in to see us, so if your wee vehicle isn’t compliant, it’ll be public transport for you. If you don’t already know, there are lots of options for trains (and YAY no more striking!!!), buses and of course the underground isn’t far either – and there are places like Shields Road or bridge street and I believe Partick where you can park and ride (but most of the underground stations have free street parking near by too – e.g. Cessnock, Ibrox, Govan, I also have a few patients who also park over the water, near the new Barclays buildings and walk over,and at least one who parks in the Quay and walks in from there.. mobility dependant of course!.

Please do check these things out for yourself, I have attempted to gather the useful information in to easy to follow format, but I cannot take responsibility for any fines, penalties etc incurred as a consequence of using some or all of the information given on this page.