London Mayor Sadiq Khan will allow circuses and funfairs to escape green tax on diesel
TRAVELLING circus acts and funfairs will escape a green tax crackdown on dirty diesel engines, a Labour chief has decided.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has ruled that showman’s vehicles are exempt from the £100 daily charge for driving in the capital.
But drivers of coaches, lorries, tipper trucks, cement mixers and removal wagons which don’t meet new clean air standards will all be clobbered when they enter the new ultra-low emissions zone.
Last night furious campaigners said the mayor was acting like a “clown” – but it is no joke to millions of road-users struggling to run their own business.
Several other major cities are poised to follow London’s newly-launched scheme in the hope of deterring drivers of the most polluting vehicles from entering their streets.
Cars which don’t meet the tougher emissions standard face a £12.50-a-day levy under the scheme launched last month. Lorries, coaches and larger vehicles are forced to pay £100.
DEADLY POLLUTANTS
But trucks used by travelling showmen have been made completely exempt if they are registered to a person following the business of a travelling showman.
To be eligible the lorry must have been modified or specially constructed for use during a performance, for carrying equipment or used for displaying animals to the public.
But furious critics said it was unfair if they are allowed to spew out deadly pollutants without paying the charge while other business vehicles are penalised.
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Tory MP Robert Halfon said: “It says everything about this punitive charge that he is happy to give an exemption for the likes of circus performers while white van man who is trying to earn an honest crust will have to cough up.”
About 91,000 vehicles a day enter the ULEZ, which uses the same central London boundary as the old congestion charge – with about seven in ten compliant with the new standards.
A spokesman for Mr Khan said: “Some showman’s vehicles have been exempt from air pollution charges in central London since the Low Emissions Zone was introduced in early 2008 and remained in place for the duration of Boris Johnson’s time as mayor.”
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