London, as from today, is a Low Emission Zone. This means that heavy goods and large public service vehicles will have their number plates read as they enter and within the zone and compared with a national database of vehicles known to conform to pollution requirements (all made after 2001 and those post-fitted with filters). Owners of non-conforming vehicles will have to pay a £200 ($400) charge each time they enter the zone. On the whole, I believe this to be a good move and is consistent with the practice in many cities in Continental Europe. It will keep London a lot cleaner, as some trucks and buses spew forth black clouds at regular intervals.
However, one of the UK's main routes from such major cities as Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds/Bradford, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh to the Continent ports and tunnel is via the M1 (NNW of London), clockwise round the M25 ring road, through the tunnel, to the M20/M2.
The crafty buggers have put a short stretch of the M25 in the LEZ (see map), so that vehicles bypassing London will still be charged. The alternative is to go round the M25 in the opposite direction, which is roughly twice as long and more heavily congested because of traffic to two major airports.
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