ARTICLE. 2012 London Emission Zone (LEZ): The affect on Vehicles and Businesses

In 2008 the Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) was launched, the target, to provide cleaner air for London. Pollution can cause dramatic health affects and even though London’s air is improving, 2012 sees a massive step into improving the pollution problem even further. ‘LEZ’ has been targeted mainly at the roads, and what better way to control people and their vehicles, the old fashioned Penalty Fine. A genius scheme to decrease pollution and most of all, take people’s money. Well as of January 2012 this gets worse, the new emissions Zone is in and it is bigger and angrier than before.

3^rd of January is when the beginning of the end starts for many companies and residence with mini buses, Lorries, vans and larger vehicles older than 2002. Those accepted must contain Euro 3 engines.  It goes to the ridiculous extent that even road gritters, fire engines, snow ploughs and recovery vehicles. Where does the madness end? So if a house is burning down and people’s lives are at risk, can’t older fire engine go out to save them without receiving a large fine? Could it be that extreme?

Today, we took to the streets and instead of interviewing lorry drivers or salt gritters we chose to find a small business and get their point of view and find out just how hard this emission Zone increase has affected them. So who better to choose than the third most loved thing is Britain...The Ice Cream Vans.
The first ice cream vans appeared in the thirties, by the sixties there were over 20,000 ice cream vans ringing their chimes and serving traditional soft serve whippy ice cream we still love today. But after high fuel costs, increase prices on sugar and milk, and the emission zone have brought that healthy number down to only 5,000. This for an industry as a whole is catastrophic and it hasn’t stopped yet.

We all remember ice cream vans from our childhoods, the uncontrollable excitement when we heard the chimes and would pester mum for money. But for how much longer will those chimes continue to ring? With councils enforcing very strict rules on Ice Cream vans is what is forcing many out of their jobs. Limits on chimes which can only be played for seconds and can’t be replayed for minutes longer, a volume limit too is in place and no chimes after certain times. This varies on each council.  With all these Playstations and Xbox consoles, how can ice creams vans expect to be heard over those when their chimes are forced to be short and quiet? Ice cream vans which are accepted are those with the Euro 3 engine but those who own Ford Vans need to do their research as Ford begun using these euro 3 engines earlier than others. The first Euro 5 engine Ice Cream Van was built this year By Whitby Morrison. 
Ice Cream Vans are now being banned from parks, fields, schools and even now council estates. It’s no wonder many struggle to keep the business open.
So what of the classic ice cream vans, the vintage van? As these are obviously older, the people of London and other cities may never get a chance to see these beautiful creations. The barrier of the M25 is the limit, the fortress wall, in which entering with a van or vehicle older than requirements will land you a massive £100 fine.  As if we didn’t feel watched enough my electronic eyes.

We have interviewed Robert, Owner of Ice Cream Company, Robert’s Ices:

How bigger impact do you think the new LEZ law will have upon your business?

“Well, a very big impact. Many Ice cream vans will be going out of business because of this, which is a shame because I love this industry. It’s what I have grown up with and its what I know best.”

Are there solutions to the new LEZ laws?

There is a filter that can be bought, a diesel particulate filter (DPF) which firstly cost a good £2500+VAT along with the constant cleaning and maintenance. But, I know a few people who have had these installed and from what they say, these filters do not even work properly. So we pay all this money and go through the hassle of having them fitted and certified (for even more money) and then we still pay the £100 per day fine because the filters fail. Luckily for us we only keep vans much newer than the LEZ limit so we do not need these filters.

Do you think many other businesses will be affected as much as the ice cream industry?

Of course, so many businesses of all kinds use transit vans, the work horse of Britain as my father calls them. So many will not even be able to work in London anymore. Not everyone can afford to buy new Vans. What is very annoying though, is the black taxis of London, they run on worse emissions than ice cream vans yet they are excused from fines or having to make adjustments to their cars. In my opinion they shouldn’t be allowed to do it.

One final question. What do you feel is the future for Ice Cream Vans?

Well, all I know is here at Roberts Ices we are going to carry on as we are. Keep doing the right thing, serving a good ice cream and value for money and continue to provide that family run business service. I think if the Ice Cream industry is to survive, more Vans need to provide a good service, many times we have had to step in to save a wedding because another company hasn’t turned up as they have found something they feel more profitable or something. Its things like this which really harm our industry but were not all like that. We run our vans properly like a catering company should, health and hygiene is first, constant cleaning and risk assessments. Fresh food all year round served with a smile. Of course we do some street rounds which we build up many loyal customers and also gain many friends too. But who knows, the future of Ice Cream Vans is never certain, things could get better as promised by the current political party.  We shall see.

After the interview we had the chance to sample some of Roberts Ices fresh whippy and very nice is was. It is nice to see a clean and well kept Ice Cream Van which I would feel safe to buy ice cream for my kids from.
Ice Cream Vans are now not a thing of the summer, but an all year round industry. Forced out into the snow and Ice by these council rules and regulations, Ice cream traders are dressing in many layers to trade just to make ends meet. Ice Cream vans were always a happy place, and we can only hope they continue to come down are streets serving that rare treat. It is not just London either, most cities around the UK are now considering these Low emission zone rules.  Many more small businesses and industries may be hurt deeply in times to come.
Supermarkets are too what puts great strain on the ice cream vans, bringing out ice lollies and ice cream now even sorbet at prices ice cream vans just can’t challenge. But there is something the supermarkets can’t do, and that is traditional soft whippy ice cream and that’s what I look forward to every summer. 

To view Roberts Ices please visit www.robertsicecream.co.uk