Date set for London's Ultra Low Emission Zone

London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that the capital’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone will be implemented in two years.

The mayor has already confirmed a £10 T-Charge for polluting vehicles in London’s Congestion Charge Zone, due to start in October this year.

However, Khan is now proposing, following a public consultation set to be launch today, 4 April, that this be replaced by the introduction of the first Ultra Low Emission Zone.

This will see petrol vehicles that do not meet Euro 4 standards and diesel vehicles that do not meet Euro 6 standards pay a daily charge to drive within central London from 8 April 2019.

There will be a ULEZ daily fee of £12.50 for cars, vans and motorbikes, and £100 for buses, coaches and HGVs to drive in the zone at all times.

It will apply to all vehicle types, except black taxis.

Approximately petrol cars more than 13 years old in 2019, and diesel cars more than four years old in 2019 will not meet the new standards.

The total cost, with the congestion charge added (during the times of day it is applicable), for motorists with non-compliant cars will be £24 a day.

Khan is also proposing to expand the ULEZ across Greater London for heavy diesel vehicles, including buses, coaches and lorries, in 2020, and up to the North and South Circular roads for cars and vans in 2021.

It is estimated that introducing ULEZ in central London will result in nearly a 50 per cent reduction in road transport NOx emissions in 2020.

Once consultation on the current ULEZ proposals has finished in June, Khan plans to start consultation on expanding the zone to cover nearly all of Greater London.

This would apply to heavy diesel vehicles such as buses, coaches and lorries and it would be implemented in 2020.

Following that, the mayor wants to go even further still and consult Londoners on extending the ULEZ area applying to light vehicles, such as cars, vans, minibuses and motorcycles up to the North / South Circular road. This would be implemented in 2021.

Khan commented: “I am introducing a new T-Charge this October and subject to consultation, I want to introduce the Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London in April 2019. This alone will mean the capital has the toughest emission standard of any world city.

‘But the scale of our air quality challenge is so big that I need to go further. I want to expand the ULEZ from 2020 for heavy vehicles such as buses, coaches and lorries so that all of London will benefit from cleaner air. Then from 2021, I want to expand it up to the North and South Circular roads for light vehicles, including cars and vans. These measures will help improve the air that millions of Londoners breathe."

Khan continued: "I want to announce my intention to consult on these proposals in good time so that business and those affected by new charges will have time to make changes they need to adapt to our low emission requirements.

‘Now I urge the Government to step up and match my ambition to transform the appalling air we breathe. Ministers need to deliver a national vehicle scrappage fund, reform fiscal incentives like vehicle excise duty and pass a powerful new Clean Air Act to Act end the toxic smog in London once and for all.”