r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	RingerMinger
Comment	I'd be happy enough to pass a £60 or £75 charge onto a customer. We're not going to be able to spread the cost of replacement vehicles amongst them. The amount of actual pollution produced is tiny. (In fact, one of the vehicles has emission levels that would pass Euro 6, but unluckily it was manufactured a few months before the classification was available) Fairground vehicles have been given a free pass - I presume the argument was that they are specialist vehicles, expensive to replace, that don't cover much mileage compared to regular commuters or deliveries. By your argument they don't have a business case either. "Any society that can't provide clean air for its citizens doesn't deserve the benefits of high economic growth." Air quality in Glasgow has improved massively within my lifetime. It wasn't that long ago that every bus and lorry was spouting blue smoke. I think the problem now is that most of the easy gains have been made and we're at the point of diminishing returns. But at the same time, we're importing goods instead of producing them here, essentially "offshoring" the pollution. And most of the vehicles that are replaced because of the LEZ aren't getting scrapped, they're exported abroad and will continue polluting long after we've forgotten about them. So I don't think we can feel too smug about cleaner air here when it's largely at the expense of poorer people elsewhere.
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/rv63dz/glasgow_low_emission_zone_injustice/hr8p4cm/
Created	Tue 4th Jan 2022 6:06pm
Status	normal ()

I'd be happy enough to pass a £60 or £75 charge onto a customer. We're not going to be able to spread the cost of replacement vehicles amongst them.

The amount of actual pollution produced is tiny. (In fact, one of the vehicles has emission levels that would pass Euro 6, but unluckily it was manufactured a few months before the classification was available)

Fairground vehicles have been given a free pass - I presume the argument was that they are specialist vehicles, expensive to replace, that don't cover much mileage compared to regular commuters or deliveries.

By your argument they don't have a business case either.

"Any society that can't provide clean air for its citizens doesn't deserve the benefits of high economic growth."

Air quality in Glasgow has improved massively within my lifetime. It wasn't that long ago that every bus and lorry was spouting blue smoke. I think the problem now is that most of the easy gains have been made and we're at the point of diminishing returns.

But at the same time, we're importing goods instead of producing them here, essentially "offshoring" the pollution. And most of the vehicles that are replaced because of the LEZ aren't getting scrapped, they're exported abroad and will continue polluting long after we've forgotten about them. So I don't think we can feel too smug about cleaner air here when it's largely at the expense of poorer people elsewhere.