There looks set to be yet more bad news for some of London’s drivers, as Sadiq Khan announced plans to extend the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) again next year.
In 2021, the Mayor of London amended the ULEZ so it expanded from central London only to the North and South Circular roads.
Check if you're ULEZ compliant here.
Under Khan’s latest plans for expansion, all of Greater London would fall into the ULEZ by the end of 2023. The new boundaries for the zone would see all highly polluting petrol and diesel vehicles charged to drive in the capital every day.
According to Khan’s press release, it is expected the number of highly polluting vehicles on London’s roads would be reduced by as many as 20,000 to 40,000 cars per day under the expansion, while carbon dioxide emissions in outer London could be lowered by between 135,000 and 150,000 tonnes a year.
The ULEZ programme was initially introduced in 2019 to help in the fight to lower pollution levels in central London and, after it was expanded last year, the Mayor has said that more than 3.8 million people in the city have enjoyed cleaner air.
But many Londoners have hit back at Khan for implementing the changes. Despite having support from around half of Londoners for his clean air plans, he still faces opposition from 1 in 3, with many saying the regulation hits the poorest hardest – given it’s likely to be older vehicles that are no longer compliant.
Khan said: ‘The triple challenges of tackling toxic air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion mean we need to further reduce emissions from vehicles in London. We simply don’t have time to waste. The climate emergency means we only have a small window of opportunity left to reduce carbon emissions to help save the planet. And despite the world-leading progress we have made over the last few years, there is still far too much toxic air pollution permanently damaging the lungs of young Londoners and leading to thousands of deaths every year, with the greatest number of deaths attributable to air pollution in outer London boroughs.’
‘If no additional action is taken to reduce air pollution beyond the existing polices, around 550,000 Londoners would develop diseases attributable to air pollution over the next 30 years and the cumulative cost to the NHS and the social care system is estimated to be £10.4 billion.’
Do you agree with the changes or will this impact how you get from A to B? Let us know in the comments below.