Over 20,000 LEZ fines issued in Glasgow since June

It has been revealed that over 20,000 fines have been issued since the introduction of Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone in June 2023.

Up until the end of September, a grand total of 20,136 fines have been issued to drivers whose vehicles have not met the requirements for the zone which is based around Glasgow city centre.

There was a grace period given in June, which meant that drivers would only be fined once if they entered the zone and recent statistics have shown that the number of fines issued have decreased in recent months. In July, 6144 fines were issued by Glasgow City Council which fell to 5757 in August and then 5336 in September.

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council, said: “Glasgow’s plan to phase in a Low Emission Zone was announced in 2018 to tackle the harmful air pollution that has blighted the city centre for decades, creating and exacerbating people’s health conditions and the city’s health inequalities, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable.

“Whilst pre-enforcement modelling showed that up to 90% of vehicles driving into the zone area were unaffected, the LEZ standards address the most polluting vehicles which disproportionately create harmful concentrations of air pollution in the city centre.

“Penalties are reduced by 50% if paid within 14 days, with all revenue above that incurred in running Glasgow’s LEZ scheme itself, only used for activities that help reduce air pollution or contribute toward achieving our climate change targets.

“We would remind drivers to familiarise themselves with LEZ emissions requirements.”

LEZ is currently being challenged in court by a number of motor trade businesses within the zone who argue that the introduction was unnecessary and that it didn’t need to be implemented.