Khan to extend London’s ULEZ plans to North and South Circular boundary

Sadiq Khan has confirmed that London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will be expanded up to the North and South Circular boundary in 2021.

The Mayor of London said that the new ULEZ will cover an area 18 times larger than the Central London Ultra Low Emission Zone and will affect large numbers of polluting vehicles that don’t comply with strict emission standards.

The expanded zone will be managed in the same way as the central London ULEZ, which is being delivered in April 2019, 17 months earlier than planned and will operate on top of the congestion charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Drivers within the zone using non-compliant vehicles will pay a daily ULEZ charge of £12.50. These include motorbikes that do not meet Euro 3 standards; petrol cars and vans that do not meet Euro 4 standards and diesel cars and vans that do not meet Euro 6 standards.

Across London diesel buses, coaches and lorries will need to meet the Euro 6 standard.

The Mayor will also tighten the standards for the most polluting heavy vehicles including buses, coaches and lorries across the whole of London from October 2020, using the same boundary as the existing Low Emission Zone.

Khan said: “Tackling London’s lethal air and safeguarding the health of Londoners requires bold action. Air pollution is a national health crisis and I refuse to stand back as thousands of Londoners breathe in air so filthy that it shortens our life expectancy, harms our lungs and worsens chronic illness. I promised hard-hitting measures to tackle our shameful air pollution and today City Hall is confirming the next stage of our plans to expand the Ultra-Low Emission Zone up to the north and south circular roads.

“We’re doing everything in our power to tackle this issue and are starting to see improvements in air quality with the wide-ranging action we’ve taken already on tackling the most polluting cars, and cleaning up our bus and taxi fleet. An expanded Ultra-Low Emission Zone, in conjunction with the Central London ULEZ, will really help transform the air that millions of Londoners breathe. Some motorists will need help switching to greener transport options, which is why City Hall are urging Ministers to deliver a diesel scrappage scheme to get the dirtiest cars off our roads and offer drivers a fair deal, especially the many diesel drivers who brought vehicles thinking they were more environmentally friendly after government advice.”