Press Release

11th June 2007

62% of transport operators without plan for London Low Emissions Zone compliance

Eminox study highlights an urgent need for information and advice for operators

Gainsborough, 11 June 2007 - A month after Ken Livingstone confirmed that the London Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) is to come into force in February 2008, Eminox reports receipt of over 1,000 enquiries from operators seeking advice on LEZ compliance options.

This unprecedented level of enquiries comes as the emissions specialist releases the findings of its investigation into the awareness levels and the perceived effects of the London LEZ on a wide range of business types.

The study, released today, shows that 62% of operators admit to having no plan for dealing with the LEZ. Based on a survey sample of 150 companies by an independent national telemarketing agency, the findings highlight the lack of planning across the board.

Around 30% of respondents said they didn't believe they would be affected by the LEZ as they did not enter London, however many were surprised to learn that the zone extends almost as far as the M25. Some 2% had plans to redirect non-compliant vehicles and just over 3% stated that they planned to replace vehicles early as a result of the LEZ - less than 1% already had plans in place to retrofit their vehicles in order to meet the required standards. This leaves many thousands of operators who are yet to get to grips with the implications for their business.

"We conducted this survey to help us to evaluate the level of demand and put plans in place to meet the needs of operators," said Mike Galey, Director of Marketing at Eminox. "In addition to this we identified a clear need to provide operators with information and advice to help them to meet the challenges the LEZ presents."

"Whilst compliance is really not optional, with charges of up to £200 per day for non-compliance, operators do have the option of upgrading vehicles using retrofit technology, rather than replacing them," he further added.

Eminox offers full filtration systems which give compliance not only for phase one (Euro III particulate level), from February 2008, but for the more stringent particulate level (Euro IV) required for compliance in 2012.

In order to provide retrofit solutions for the widest range of vehicles affected, Eminox has added to its established CRT^® range to include FBC and FBC Active, fuel borne catalyst systems. All of these retrofit technologies virtually eliminate particulate matter including ultra fine particles (below one micron) which are considered the most damaging to health.>

With almost 50,000 systems supplied to date, Eminox is the market leader in retrofit technology with systems proven in routine daily use. The Eminox CRT^® system has already been used in retrofit schemes for buses in many cities across Europe, including 8,000 fitted in London.