NEWS now that will likely come as no surprise to anyone - Ultra Low Emission Zones (ULEZ) aren’t terribly popular in the eyes of the general public.
There, I told you it was not going to be much of a surprise! The news comes via a survey conducted by DriveElectric, and it shows that just 28 per cent of the UK public is in favour of ULEZ-style schemes. Out of those in favour of the schemes, those aged (fairly predictably) between 18 and 24 were the most ardent supporters, with 43 per cent of people within that age group backing the low-emission zones, citing environmental benefits as the main reason. Again, that figure isn’t much of a surprise given that a significant proportion of those people will be city dwellers, quite possibly in higher education and in some cases a few years away from owning a private car or motorcycle.
Those over 65 were the most against ULEZ
At the other end of the spectrum, the respondents who were most against ULEZ schemes were those aged over 65, with 21 per cent of that age group thinking that charging vehicles to enter a city centre simply doesn’t have the desired effect of reducing harmful emissions in built-up areas. Conversely, just 7 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds believed that Ultra Low Emission Zones wouldn’t work, the lowest of all the age groups included in the survey.
The survey also uncovered some interesting data about how people from different regions of the UK felt about the schemes. Southampton was the most in favour of charging vehicles to enter the city centre, 31 per cent of people there believing they are a positive move. Edinburgh had the lowest confidence in them, with 14 per cent of people there thinking they were a good thing, while the thrifty people of Belfast returned a score of zero per cent when they were asked if they would be happy to pay to drive in a ULEZ!
If anything, the survey goes some way to proving that despite what the general consensus of the public is, they’ll forge on with whatever it they want to do regardless - and we guess that will probably never change.
You can check out the full article from DriveElectric here.
