ULEZ expansion rolled out

London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has expanded to cover more of the city from Tuesday 29 August.

It is hoped that the expansion will improve air quality and therefore protect people's health and tackle the climate crisis.

ULEZ now covers every London borough and is expected to bring cleaner air to five million people and reduce carbon emissions in outer London by 27,000 tonnes.

Drivers must pay a charge of £12.50 per day to drive a non-compliant vehicle anywhere in the zone.

In the last eight months, TfL’s online vehicle checker has been used more than thirteen million times. Ninety percent of cars seen driving in outer London are already compliant and will not have to pay the charge.

All Londoners with non-compliant cars are able to get £2,000 for scrapping a car and £1,000 for scrapping a motorcycle. Small businesses and charities can also receive increased grant payments of between £6,000 and £11,500. Eligible charities, businesses and sole traders can now apply for up to three vans or minibuses to be scrapped or retrofitted in total.

So far, nearly £60 million has been committed to Londoners to help them transition to greener alternatives, including more than £14m to scrap cars and motorcycles and more than £45m to scrap vans and minibuses.

ULEZ has already cut harmful nitrogen dioxide by nearly half in central London and by a fifth in inner London, helping to reduce the number of air pollution-related asthma admissions for children by a third, and saving 800,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions since 2019 (the equivalent of 1.1 million flights from London to New York).

The net revenue raised from ULEZ will be reinvested back into public transport, including the expansion of bus services in outer London, though this is not expected until 2026/27.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “This is a landmark day for our city which will lead to a greener, healthier London for everyone. The decision to expand the ULEZ London-wide was a difficult one, but necessary to save lives, protect children’s lungs and help prevent asthma, dementia and other health issues.

“All the evidence shows that it’s clean air zones like ULEZ that are the gamechanger in a city like London when it comes to cutting toxic air quickly and meaningfully to protect people’s health. It’s thanks to the ULEZ that we are now set to get London’s air to within legal limits in the next couple of years, 184 years earlier than previously projected.

“As Mayor, I’ve continued to listen to the concerns of Londoners, which is why we have massively expanded the scrappage scheme. This means all Londoners with non ULEZ-compliant cars can now get financial support to switch to greener, less polluting alternatives. We still have millions of pounds left in the scrappage scheme pot, so I encourage all Londoners who are impacted by ULEZ to apply today for the support we’ve made available.  I continue to call on the Government to give London and Home Counties money for scrappage, as they have other cities around the UK.

“I’m determined to continue being a doer, not a delayer when it comes to reducing air pollution and taking bold climate action.  The easiest thing for me to do would have been to kick the can down the road, but we simply don’t have time to waste. I am not prepared to stand idly by when we have the ability to save lives and help tackle the climate crisis.”

However, others are critical of the scheme. The Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall has pledged to reverse the Ulez expansion if elected in May 2024.

In mid-August, 1,900 ULEZ cameras had been installed, however, 300 of these have already been vandalised or stolen.

Six out of the seven councils neighbouring London have not installed signs warning people they are about to enter ULEZ. Kent, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, and Thurrock councils have not installed the signs.