DP World Southampton is to charge older trucks £5 per visit through its VBS system using automated number plate recognition to promote the use of Euro VI trucks and help improve air quality in Southampton city.
It is proposing a phased introduction to minimise impact, starting with a £ 5.00 charge on trucks with licence plates of ‘08’ or older from 1 January 2020, followed by a £5 charge on trucks with licence plates of ‘63’ or older from 1 January 2022.
The port will also create a separate database for private licence plates and dock use only trucks and ask operators to demonstrate whether their trucks are Euro V / VI compliant.
It expects that this approach will only affect a small percentage of trucks under the assumption that less than two per cent of all trucks will be Euro IV by 2020.
The green charge follows on from consultations held by Southampton City Council in 2018 for proposals to improve city air quality in the city, which included a proposed levy of up to £100 a day on non-Euro VI trucks entering the city and other charges for buses and taxis.
DP World Southampton argued that such as charge is not sustainable for businesses. Southampton Council has since dropped the proposal and is looking for alternative ways to improve city air quality but asked DP World Southampton to introduce a scheme that helped them to put an alternative case to government and avoid the larger £100 charge which has resulted in the VBS green charge.
Full details about the scheme and formal tariffs will be available in June 2019.
