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    1. Energy Efficiency

    Zero Emission Zone pilot project now activated in city of Oxford, UK

    March 8, 2022
    Under the ZEZ program, petrol and diesel vehicles, including hybrids, incur a daily charge of £2 to £10 per day depending on the vehicle’s emissions level, unless eligible for a discount or exemption. Zero-emission vehicles, like EVs, do not
    Oxford Zero Zone 62279c086a0d5

    Britain has opened a pilot Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ) in Oxford which is completely geared toward reducing air pollution..

    Under the ZEZ program, petrol and diesel vehicles, including hybrids, incur a daily charge of £2 to £10 per day depending on the vehicle’s emissions level, unless the vehicles are eligible for a discount or exemption. Zero-emission vehicles, like electric cars, do not have to pay any charges.

    The pilot covers a small number of streets, including New Road, between Bonn Square and its junction with Castle Street; New Inn Hall Street; Queen Street and Cornmarket Street.

    The Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council will draw insights from the pilot before expanding the zone to most of Oxford city centre in 2023.

    “The launch of Britain’s first Zero Emission Zone on 28 February would not have happened without many people’s enthusiasm, expertise, and time,” Councillor Tom Hayes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Green Transport and Zero Carbon Oxford, Oxford City Council, said. “The City Council has chosen to set the toughest air quality standards of any local authority in the country. There is no safe level of air pollution.

    Through the Zero Carbon Oxford Partnership, the city council has helped to establish a data-led, science-based target of creating a net zero city by 2040.

    The ZEZ payments can be made online on the county council’s website. Payments can be made six days in advance or six days after the vehicle has been driven in the zone.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.