Diesel drivers face paying £12.50 A DAY to travel around London as Sadiq Khan confirms pollution tax
DRIVERS of high-polluting vehicles will be charged £12.50 for driving anywhere in London from 2021, Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced.
Khan confirmed plans to expand the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) on Friday, which will now extend to the outskirts of the capital.
Tens of thousands of cars and vans will face the daily charge, with the extended area measuring 18 times larger than the central zone.
Any diesel cars built before 2015 will have to pay up plus pre-2006 petrols.
The zone includes an area up to the North and South Circular roads and will kick in from October 25, 2021.
Mr Khan made the announcement as he launched a new study of more than 3,000 primary school children in polluted areas of London and Luton, Bedfordshire, to test if policies to improve air quality help their health.
The mayor also revealed plans to tighten standards for the most polluting heavy vehicles including buses, coaches and lorries across the whole of London from October 2020.
It's estimated that 100,000 cars, 35,000 vans and 3,000 lorries could be affected by the expanded zone every day, City Hall said.
Confirmation of the expanded ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ) comes after research showed the health damage from cars and vans across the UK costs £6 billion a year to the NHS, with the bill in London £650 million.
Transport for London is also bringing in the central London ULEZ in April 2019.
Cars, vans, minibuses and motorbikes that fail to meet the tough emissions standards will be charged £12.50 a day.
Currently, Brits face a daily £11.50 Congestion Charge - and the £10 T-Charge add-on for the oldest, dirtiest models.
Who will be affected by the charges coming into force in 2021?
According to the Mayor's office, drivers within the expanded zone using non-compliant vehicles will pay a daily ULEZ charge of £12.50, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no residents' discounts.
These include:
- Motorbikes that do not meet Euro 3 standards
- Petrol cars and vans that do not meet Euro 4 standards (roughly the equivalent to not being more than fifteen years old for cars in 2021)
- Diesel cars and vans that do not meet Euro 6 standards (roughly the equivalent to not being more than six years old for cars in 2021)
This will be replaced by the ULEZ rules in 2019 with the extension coming two years later.
Mr 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."
all you need to know about emissions
The capital is cracking down on emissions to improve air quality which is at dangerous levels.
Although early 2018 figures suggest London's hourly nitrogen dioxide limit hasn't exceeded limits as quickly as in 2017.
London will be followed by three other cities that have outlined ULEZs: Birmingham, Manchester and Oxford.