A 'CLEAN up or pay up' ultimatum is facing fleets which ignore repeated Government demands to take action over emissions. In a 10-point clean-up plan revealed as part of a new national Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the lack of progress made by fleets after more than five years of Government campaigning is made clear.

The guide tells fleets to use mobile communications instead of driving, invest in driver training, improve vehicle maintenance, use low emission vehicles, use taxis and rail more often and provide staff with public transport season tickets, encourage car sharing and provide incentives for cycling, while also considering relocation. Free fuel for private mileage is discouraged, as it 'results in higher personal mileage and distorts decisions about transport options.'

The document, which sets out environmental targets in 2003, 2004 and 2005 for reductions in key pollutants, provides a clear warning that fleets are woefully short of meeting Government expectations for rethinking their transport strategies. Air Quality Strategy, launched by Environment Minister Michael Meacher in London, singles out fleets for special attention. However, he accepted that fleets already ran the newest, and therefore the cleanest, vehicles available.

Over the next five years, expected cuts in pollution will include 12% for particulates and 62% for benzene, with the transport sector achieving a 50% cut in its contribution to pollution 'as a direct result of integrated transport policies, cleaner fuels and improved vehicle technology.' PM10s will be reduced to European standards which are not to be exceeded more than 35 times a year by the end of 2004. Earlier targets proved to be 'unachievable', even if all cars were taken off the road.