At the start of the low emission zone (LEZ) in the city of Ghent, only six cameras will be able to scan the offenders, instead of the 15 cameras required for full coverage.
Ghent wants to better its air quality by introducing a Low Emission Zone, keeping as many polluting cars as possible outside the city. However, only six cameras that will scan licence plates are in place at the moment, instead of the 15 that are needed to cover the entire city.
The extra nine cameras will not arrive until 2021. "Over the course of 2021, nine more cameras will be installed, and then we will have 15 cameras scanning vehicles' licence plates finding polluting cars," said Tine Heyse, the Alderman for Environment in Ghent, reports VRT.
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"The system with six cameras is not yet conclusive, but the chance of getting caught is real regardless. There will be a moveable camera as well, that will be deployed when we see that shortcuts and backroads come into being," she added.
The cameras that recognise licence plate cost about €35,000 each, reports Radio 2.
Offenders will not yet be fined in January 2020, but will receive a warning letter which tells them they entered the inner city of Ghent with a polluting car, but are no longer allowed to do so. From February, fines will be issued.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
