London ULEZ expansion on the cards as consultation is launched

A consultation has been launched on further expanding the London ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ). Under the Mayor of London’s proposals, the ULEZ would cover the whole of Greater London from 29 August 2023.

The ULEZ originally covered the same area of central London as the congestion charge zone, before expanding to cover all the streets inside the North Circular and South Circular roads. If the further planned expansion goes ahead next year, the AA estimates that around a third of car owners in the newly affected area would be priced off the road.

In a consultation document, Sadiq Khan wrote: “We simply don’t have time to waste. The climate emergency means we only have a small window of opportunity left to cut harmful emissions to help save the planet. Toxic air pollution is still permanently damaging the lungs of young Londoners and leading to thousands of premature deaths every year.”

The move would be supported by an expanded scrappage scheme to encourage people to get rid of their older, polluting vehicles and look for other options such as public transport or car clubs. This scrappage scheme would not only support the purchase of new cars, but also incentivise walking, cycling and public transport usage.

Khan has also stressed the need to support low-income households, disabled people and charities to buy ULEZ compliant vehicles and introduce exemptions where applicable.

The Mayor added: “Experts think that a new form of road user charging will need to be part of the solution to addressing the triple challenges of air pollution, the climate emergency and traffic congestion.

“This could include scrapping existing charges, such as the congestion charge, and replacing them with a road user charging scheme that uses more sophisticated technology to make it as simple and fair as possible for Londoners.

“TfL is still many years away from being ready to implement such a scheme, but we would like Londoners to share their views to help us shape any potential plans in the future.”

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