Drivers falling foul of Scotland’s controversial Low Emission Zones have been hit with fines worth an astonishing £10million.
New analysis shows the heavy price paid by drivers of older petrol and diesel cars under the LEZ schemes which have been running in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee since June, as well as in Glasgow, where the system has been in force since summer 2023.
Aiming to improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions in city centres, the zones are enforced by fining motorists who enter the designated areas in vehicles which remain legal and road-worthy but are deemed too polluting.
According to official data from the city councils, a grand total of 113,862 penalties have been issued so far.
Detailed figures for Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee show motorists have been slapped with fines worth a whopping £8,461,200.
And although only partial data is available for the scheme in Aberdeen, figures suggest the value of fines issued in the Granite City is around £2.2million – taking the overall total for Scotland’s LEZ penalties above £10.6million.
Last night politicians warned that the huge value of fines was proof cash-strapped councils were using LEZs as money-raising schemes.
Scottish Conservative shadow transport secretary Sue Webber MSP said: ‘Hard-pressed motorists are continuing to pay the price for the SNP’s financial incompetence.
‘With fines having topped an eye-watering £10million, it’s clear many have no option but to enter low emission zones to get to work or visit friends and family.
‘Low emission zones are nothing more than a cash cow for councils desperately seeking funds to make up for the SNP’s savage cuts to their budgets.
‘If ministers want to encourage people out of their cars, they should use some common sense and deliver reliable public transport services, rather than hitting motorists as a result of their own financial incompetence.’
The figures suggest the zones are succeeding in their stated aim of banishing older vehicles from city centres – as the number of fines has dropped month on month in the four cities with the scheme.
In June the country’s LEZs issued a total of 17,391 fines. But by September the number had fallen 21 per cent to 13,795.
The Tories warned the drop in fines could also mean a drop in visitors to the city-centres – which could be bad for shops and companies within the LEZs.
Webber added: ‘Not only are the low emission zones punishing motorists, they are also harming struggling city centre businesses.’
But Government agency Transport Scotland hailed falling numbers of fines as proof the LEZs were improving air quality – while insisting there was no evidence the schemes were reducing numbers of shoppers or visitors.
A spokesman said: ‘We would expect to see the number of Penalty Charge Notices being issued decline over time as drivers of non-compliant vehicles realise they will be caught if driving in Low Emission Zones (LEZs).
‘We are pleased to hear that early indications from Glasgow show that the LEZ is contributing to air quality improvements in the zone.
We are not aware of evidence that the LEZ has had a negative impact on footfall within the zones.’
He added: ‘Data from Aberdeen actually showed an increase in footfall the week following enforcement of the city’s LEZ.’
The severity of penalties depends on how often a driver infringes the LEZ – from £60 for a single breach to a maximum of £960 for driving a non-compliant vehicle into the zone five or more times.
Overall, 2,069 of these maximum fines have been issued, worth £1.99million – almost a fifth of the total amount levied.
Monthly data on fines issued for LEZ contraventions, including a breakdown of how many drivers are hit with each level of fine, is published by councils in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.
Scotland’s first LEZ was set up in Glasgow and between June 2023 and October 2024 the city issued 56,970 fines worth £5,348,700.
Edinburgh’s zone was introduced in June this year – and in the five months to October 24,791 fines worth £2,230,980 were issued in the capital.
Over the same period, Dundee issued 8,101 fines worth £881,520.
Aberdeen does not routinely publish its statistics, but in response to a Freedom of Information request, the council revealed that exactly 24,000 fines were issued between June and September this year, the first four months the city’s LEZ was operational.
Over the same period the average value of individual fine issued in the new-established Edinburgh and Dundee LEZs was £94.63 – suggesting the total value of the 24,000 Aberdeen fines is likely to be around £2.26million.
Under LEZ rules, vehicles are banned if they fail to meet minimum emission standards – meaning, generally speaking, diesel-engine cars from before 2015 and petrol cars from before 2006 do not comply.
A network of number-plate recognition monitors vehicles entering each of the LEZs.
Under the terms of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 cash raised from LEZ penalties can only be used to fund measures aligned to the environmental aims of the scheme – which can include a broad range of health and transport projects.