The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has confirmed the decision to expand the Ultra-Low-Emission Zone (ULEZ) to all of Greater London. After the conclusion of a consultation round, Khan has now put a date on the expansion. As of the 29th of August 2023, older polluting cars will have to pay a fee to enter the zone.

Drivers of those vehicles have to pay £12,50 per day on entry. A fine of £160 is imposed if they don’t pay the charge. Currently, the zone covers the areas within the North and South Circular Roads, but the territory within the M25 will be monitored under the expansion. It covers all 33 boroughs of the city.

According to Khan, the new zone is a public health imperative. “Expanding the ULEZ London-wide will mean 5 million more people will be able to breathe cleaner air and live healthier lives,” he said.

Scrappage scheme

Though the money raised by ULEZ will be invested in public transport, the scheme hasn’t been designed to create revenue. Rather than pushing back polluting vehicles, according to the official statement. The extension is accompanied by a £110 million scrappage scheme to support people who need to change cars and a significant improvement to the bus network in outer Londen.

Conservatives have opposed the expansion, claiming that the suburbs “do not want it”. They refer to the fact that around 60% of the respondents consulted opposed it and claimed that legal action could still stop the new ULEZ zone from happening.

However, estimates are that some 15% of vehicles in Greater London would be affected by the new ruling, which tries to ban gasoline cars older than September 2006 and diesel vehicles pre-dating the year 2016 of the same month. For free entrance, the first must comply with Euro 4, the latter with Euro 6. Vans need to meet the same standards.

‘Bold measures’

In October 2021, the zone was expanded in the first phase, from the inner city to the suburbs. Still, Khan said afterward that “further bold measures” were necessary to lift air quality and stop congestion. He also said it was a matter of social justice, with the poorest communities being hit harder by the pollution of bad air quality.

Khan’s administration claims that the move will take 20 000 to 40 000 polluting cars out of London, representing a cut of 10% in NOx emissions. For comparison, the previous expansion is considered to result in a benefit of 30% in NOx emissions.

London’s first ULEZ zone was installed in April 2019. British cities are taking the lead in low-emission zones. Oxford city announced a pilot project – as the world’s first – that allows only zero-emission vehicles within the walls of its city center.