Air pollution

Vehicle pollution

Exhaust Watch - Vehicle Emissions

Most of the air pollution in Westminster is derived from traffic, either within or outside Westminster. Whilst vehicle engine technology is improving all the time there are some vehicles that emit excessive pollution due to a variety of factors. These could be due to engine defects, poor servicing or the type of operation to which they are being put.

Ten years ago Westminster City Council started the pioneering Exhaust Watch" scheme. This had three key areas:

• Roadside emissions testing against the MoT standard
• Pro-active patrols to "blitz" areas where coaches, buses and taxis persistently parked for extended periods of time with thier engines running.
• A spotter campaign for members of the public to report smoky vehicles to us.

Over that period much has changed. The emissions testing is now undertaken by consultants TRL on behalf of 28 London authorities. Testing is undertaken in Westminster about twice a month. Our staff no longer undertake routine patrols for stationary vehicles but we can deal with persistent problems. Finally we can no longer deal with smoky vehicle reports from the public.