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BCC slams exhaust plan
Page 21
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• Government pressure to bring forward the introduction of US-level diesel emission controls for trucks and buses has met with a storm of protest from the PSV industry.
Environment Secretary Chris Patten has told a meeting of EC ministers in Brussels that Britain would support the introduction of exhaust standards for lorries and buses over 3.5 tonnes, up to the levels of those being introduced in the US in 1995.
They are thought to be the toughest emission controls in the world.
If adopted, the new rules would bump up the price of new vehicles by up to 22,000, and would entail development of a new generation of engines and electronic systems.
The Bus and Coach Council has attacked the proposals: "It doesn't make sense," says a spokesman. "Diesel doesn't emit anything like the level of pollutants of either unleaded or leaded petrol. The only diesel engine that's emitting black smoke is a dirty engine and the operator should clean it up. But assuming costs remain the same, the UK PSV parc will be replaced by the year 2020. If these huge extra costs are introduced, it'll be closer to the end of the next century."
London Buses, which runs a fleet of nearly 4,400 vehicles, says it is satisfied that diesel engines make "a significant contribution to cleaner vehicle emissions" at the moment, and although resigned to abiding by whatever environmental rules are set, it is "confident that diesel is a greener fuel than petrol".