The Potential of Low Emissions Zone and Their Impact onto Vehicle Purchasing Behaviour

The idea of zoning in geography and planning is not a new concept and has been utilised for a variety of purposes over the years. Zoning involves the application of land use regulation in order to achieve a desired output related to the activities that take place in a certain area. A zone can relate to, for example, a park/green space open area or a hospital complex, each with its own unique purpose for the designated area and usually with a set of unique regulations attached to the use of the area. In economics/business the application of zones can be seen in the business parks that now are prevalent in most of our urban areas or the export processing zones that many of our large corporations have taken advantage of in developing nations.

In regards to integrated transport, zoning is often used in urban environments to manage the demands that personal and commercial transport places onto certain areas. These areas are often selected dependent on the level of transport loading that is present, with the areas suffering from high levels of loading being earmarked for zoning and regulation. In the UK, Clear Zones have been used in the past (such as in the Quayside development of Newcastle/Gateshead) to improve public transport, decrease congestion and noise and increase public enjoyment of certain communal areas. The recent (over the last 5 to 10 years) redevelopment of many urban city centres in the UK has provided urban planners with a unique opportunity to apply the most advanced theories in the subject in order to ensure the success of the city centre for the coming years.

Government Owned Auto Firms and Their Environmental Direction

The recent economic recession has affected both consumers and producers across the world. Output in some exporting economies decreased by upwards of 40% (such as in Japan) whilst unemployment has increased in some instances beyond the 10% band (such as in the US). Large consumer goods have been affected disproportionately as consumers hedge their bets in relation to expensive purchases. This has seen sales in the automotive sector decrease substantially in the financial year 2008/09. In order to alleviate this slump national governments have intervened within the market in an attempt to boost demand. Government backed initiatives such as the scrappage scheme have allowed consumers to receive a cash deduction on the purchase of a new vehicle when trading in their old car (if that car is over 10 years old in the instance of the UK). In the UK £300m was initially allocated to this scheme and has been further extended by another £100m due to popularity.

Within the US automotive industry there is considerations for all of the concerns outlined above. Manufacturing output is a key part of the overall US economy especially in the large consumer goods section. This industry also directly employs a large proportion of the workforce (over 1 million automotive workers in 2005) and has strong indirect employment links to related sectors. This creates the situation where the industry has an important place within national policy and political consideration. Furthermore, the industry also possesses important cultural and symbolic meaning for many US citizens who see their automotive firms as champions of US economic power, ingenuity and integrity.

Reforming Fuel Duty

The Green Fiscal Commission was a policy think tank established in 2007 to investigate the case for reforming the UK taxation system to reflect a more green position. They published their final report late last year which included a host of useful policy recommendations to the UK government. These policy recommendations were closely linked to the requirement for the UK to reduce its carbon emissions in line with the target budgets outlined in the Climate Change Bill. The commission argued the case that the vast amount of these carbon reductions could be generated by reforming the taxation system to increase tax on polluting activities (public bads) whilst decreasing tax on public goods such as employment to ensure fiscal neutrality.

I enjoyed reading about their suggestions and I believe that the case they put forward is both valid and required. In order to alter consumer and industry behaviour to reflect the environmental damage these activity generates it is crucial that this damage is incorporated into the price of goods and services produced and consumed. The public and industry may state a high level of concern for the environment but in order to ensure this concern is translated into action one of the best methods is to increase the price of activities that create this environmental impact.

Road Trains

An idea that originally grabbed my attention some months ago concerned the research being undertaken by the Safe Road Trains for the Environment (SATRE – funded by the EU) which investigated the prospect of automated vehicle motorway transport. This concept involved the creation of “Road Trains” on Europe’s motorways that allowed vehicle drivers to join a convoy, manoeuvred by a lead driver, and stop manually automating their individual car and be directed by the operations of the lead driver. This would allow the convoy driver to partake in other activities such as reading or sleeping.

Road Trains are currently undergoing further research and testing but a European implementation of 2011 has been touted. The research, that has so far been conducted, highlights a number of advantages. Firstly, convoy drivers will benefit from an average 20% reduction in fuel use due to the slipstream effect often employed by professional cyclists. This will directly reduce the carbon intensity of the journey for a convoy vehicle. The first question that comes to me is will the lead driver be professionally employed to conduct this operation or simply another motorway driver who is also undertaking a long haul journey? My inclination is that it must be a professional driver and thus, keeping in mind the supposed fuel/carbon benefits, the Road Trains will have to average a convoy of at least 5 cars (if we assume the cars are comparable with fuel/carbon efficiency) to outweigh the operation of the lead vehicle.

Renault Zero Emissions Series

Following on from my previous post discussing clean technology being showcased in Copenhagen I have done some further investigation into the new range of zero emissions vehicles being developed by Renault. The Z.E series was first outlined by Renault in 2008 and will include 4 unique vehicle designs to suit different consumer needs. Consumers will be able to choose from the two seat Twizy aimed at the young urban market who require compact and affordable transport, the Kangoo aimed at the smalle business market providing a small commercial transport solution and finally the two differing saloon options the Zoe (compact) and Fluence (family).

This development by Renault shows the first real shift by any major automotive firm in Europe to produce, not just a one off, but a spectrum of zero emissions vehicles. All the vehicles in the Z.E range will be fuelled by an electric Lithium-Ion battery pack. Renault has also teamed up with Better Place to develop and implement battery exchange stations. These stations will dispel the reservations of most conventional vehicle drivers concerning the range issue of electric vehicles. An automated system will remove the depleted battery pack and substitute it with a fully charged replacement with the entire process taking a few minutes. Before this design innovation, electric vehicle batteries were recharged by an electric outlet with refuel times upwards of 8 hours.

X Prize

A theory fundamentally ingrained into current economic thought is that a highly competitive environment will produce a socially optimal outcome so long as the agents work within the governing rules of the society. An atmosphere of innovation and invention will flourish accelerating the advancement of technology and best practice. This key principle has given birth to the X Prize created to enhance the development of next generation technologies.

The first incidence of the prize (Ansari Prize) was completed in 2004 and created the first private suborbital spaceflight with a vehicle christened SpaceShipOne, with the maiden flight undertaken by Mike Melvill. A cash prize of $10 million was offered to the first successful flight with over $100 million of investment being generated by the competing entrants.

This concept has since been further developed and brought forward to commercial deployment by the British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson with his Virgin Galactic venture. SpaceShipTwo is earmarked for its first passenger flight in 2010 with a ticket setting back the budding astronaut $200, 000 for 6 minutes of weightlessness. This illustrates a 6 year innovation and development curve from first successful trail to commercial deployment. This entire concept has been hugely successful and has subsequently been expanded to other sectors including the automotive industry.

Copenhagen LEV Outcomes

The Copenhagen Climate Conference that took place last month may have not provided me with as much of a forward looking outcome as I would have liked however, it did present an opportunity for a host of companies to demonstrate their latest technologies. The conference was as much an industry exhibition as an exercise in international political negotiations.

The link below is to a video produced by the Guardian newspaper which investigated Eco Transport at the conference. It provides a synopsis of many emerging Low Emission Vehicle technologies including internal combustion engine vehicles that utilise biofuels (in high concentrations), hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells. These technologies have been applied predominantly to cars though there is some footage showing motorcycle concepts were also being demonstrated.

Click here for the Eco Transport Copenhagen video.