London expands its Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)

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To help clear London’s air, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expanded across all London boroughs on 29 August 2023.

Watch :point_right: What is London’s controversial Ulez expansion?

Read on :point_right: Ulez: What is it and why is its expansion controversial?

What is ULEZ?

  • A £12.50 daily charge applies for driving in the Ultra Low Emission Zone, commonly referred to as Ulez, if the vehicle doesn’t meet certain emission standards.

  • Boris Johnson decided to introduce it when he was the Mayor of London. It then came into effect in April 2019. By this time, Labour’s Sadiq Khan had become Mayor.

  • Initially it covered the same central area as the Congestion Zone, before widening out to the North and South Circular roads in 2021.

  • In November 2022, a further expansion to cover all London boroughs was confirmed. This is due to start on 29 August 2023.

Here :point_right: Transport For London details, quote:

"Poor air quality is impacting the health of Londoners, and it’s mainly caused by polluting vehicles. The latest data from the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (LAEI, 2019) shows that, although improvements are being made, road transport is the single biggest contributor of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter emissions in Greater London. Find out more about the impact of air pollution on health.

Londoners are developing life-changing illnesses such as cancer, asthma and lung disease, and there is a higher risk of dementia in older people. Air pollution even contributes to the premature death of thousands of Londoners every year. It’s not just a central London problem. In fact, the greatest number of deaths related to air pollution occur in outer London areas. That’s why the ULEZ has expanded across all London boroughs (see map below).

9 out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London already meet the ULEZ emissions standards. (See how we calculated this.) To see if your vehicle meets the emissions standards, use our vehicle checker.

If you drive anywhere within the ULEZ, and your vehicle does not meet the emissions standards, you could face a daily charge of £12.50. Pay to drive by using the TfL website, or set up Auto Pay and your charges will be paid automatically.

This includes residents of the ULEZ. However, you don’t need to pay the ULEZ charge on a particular day if your non-compliant vehicle is parked inside the zone and you don’t drive.

Owners of non-UK registered vehicles also need to meet the ULEZ emissions standards or pay the daily charge to drive within the zone. Vehicles need to be registered with our partner EPC plc, even if they meet the emissions standards.

For owners of non-compliant vehicles, help is available through our scrappage scheme and ULEZ support offers.

Any money received from the scheme is reinvested into running and improving London’s transport network, such as contributing to the proposed Superloop, made up of express bus routes to help connect more people in outer London."

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Has your city taken measures to reduce particulate matter emissions from transport?

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