From 29th August 2023, drivers of the most polluting cars will have to pay £12.50 per day to enter to the Greater London Authority boundary.
Despite a public consultation finding 80% of the people in the impacted areas were opposed to the expansion, the Mayor of London is going to go ahead with his plans anyway. Other than a box ticking exercise we’re not quite sure what the purpose of the public consultation was…
In announcing the plans, Mr Khan said: "The ULEZ so far has been transformational, reducing harmful pollution levels by almost a half in central London.
"But there is still far too much toxic air pollution permanently damaging the health of young Londoners and leading to thousands of early deaths every year, with the greatest number of deaths in the outer London boroughs."
The news of the expansion comes after a recent TfL report (the local transport body that Mr Khan is ultimately responsible for) found the zone had had a limited effect on pollution levels.
One of the groups who has criticised the Mayor is The Alliance of British Drivers, which says health benefits have been exaggerated.
Policy director, Brian Gregory, said ;"TfL has an enormous hole in its budget and Mayor Khan is looking to fill that hole by any means that he can. I think Mr Khan could quite conceivably find he has legal challenges heading his way."
The existing ULEZ was introduced in 2019 and drivers are charged to enter the area if they have a non-compliant vehicle. Those people who live within the ULEZ and have a non-compliant vehicle are not exempt from the daily charges.
The mayor's office says around 200,000 non-compliant vehicles are driven regularly in London and it is hoping the introduction of the vastly increased zone will see that number reduce.
The Conservatives' transport spokesman, Nick Rogers, said now isn’t the time to hit drivers with extra fines and went on to say; "Residents have made their views very clear to the mayor: they do not want the ULEZ expansion. The mayor must listen to them, scrap these plans and use the £250m saved on real measures that tackle air pollution."
Do you think it’s the right decision to expand the zone? Let us know in the comments below.