Small businesses benefitting from London scrappage scheme

The Mayor of London and TfL's vehicle scrappage scheme has allocated £13.5m for drivers of vans and minibuses, the majority going to help small businesses scrap their polluting vehicles to comply with the ULEZ.

More than £4m has been committed to Londoners who own non-compliant cars and motorcycles.

Overall, 4,833 applications have been approved through the scheme, with £17,727,500 committed to date.

In detail, this translates to 2,183 car and motorcycle applications, 2,650 van and minibus applications, 31 charities,  1,290 micro businesses, 1,329 sole traders, 1,673 Londoners on low income benefits, and 510 Londoners in receipt of disability benefits.

With just over four months to go until the ULEZ expands, there are still tens of millions of pounds left in the scrappage fund and TfL continues to advise drivers to check their vehicle's compliance and make the most of the Mayor's scrappage scheme.

The £110m scrappage scheme was launched to support smaller businesses, sole traders, charities, Londoners on lower incomes and disabled Londoners in replacing their older, more polluting vehicles with greener options.

The scheme helps Londoners on lower incomes or who receive disability benefits scrap cars and motorcycles, and sole traders, micro-business or charities scrap or retrofit vans and minibuses.

Christina Calderato, TfL's Director of Strategy and Policy said: "It is great to see that scrappage grants are already playing a significant role in supporting smaller businesses, those on low incomes, disabled people and charities to get ready for the expansion.

"While the vast majority of cars driving in outer London on an average day are compliant, I urge drivers to use our vehicle checker and if they have a non-compliant vehicle, check their eligibility for the scrappage scheme to help them make the switch to greener and cleaner travel."