Map shows spread of ULEZ

ULTRA LOW EMISSION ZONE TO EXPAND AGAIN AFTER FIRST BEING INTRODUCED BY SADIQ KHAN IN 2019

A NEW map illustrates how the Ultra Low Emissions Zone – set up to tackle air pollution in the capital – has spread since it was launched by Sadiq Khan in 2019.

The £12.50-a-day charge for the most polluting vehicles in the capital originally covered just central London, the same area that faces the Congestion Charge.

However, it grew massively in October last year to cover all of inner London within the North and South circulars.

Now drivers are set pay an extra £300 million a year to Transport for London under plans being pushed by Sadiq Khan to expand the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) yet again by the end of August 2023.

For example, looking to the southeast border of London with Kent, if the plans go ahead the boundary will come right up to the border of Dartford and Sevenoaks - and include the likes of Biggin Hill, Bexleyheath, Orpington and Sidcup

It comes after plans were ditched for a new so-called boundary charge, which would force drivers coming into the capital to pay a £3.50 a day fee.

TfL has been asked to find more than half a billion pounds extra a year in return for Government support, after fares collapsed during the pandemic.

The proposals are for ULEZ to be expanded to cover 96% of the capital, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 364 days a year, excluding Christmas Day.

The extended charge would be a stepping stone towards a radical new fee for drivers, dubbed smart road user charging.

A period of consultation is now under way on the ULEZ expansion plans to find “the way forward to achieving the clean, green and healthy future London and the world desperately needs”.

On the consultation site, TfL said: “Since its implementation in 2019 and the subsequent expansion to inner London...the ULEZ has already helped to improve air quality in central and inner London.

“We need to do much more to protect the health and wellbeing of Londoners, especially those in outer London boroughs, where poor air quality is attributable to a greater number of deaths than in inner London.”

The transport body added: “Most drivers in Greater London are already driving compliant vehicles and would not need to pay the ULEZ charge. Eighty-two per cent of vehicles in Outer London are already compliant.

“You can check whether your vehicle is compliant using the ULEZ vehicle checker on our website.”

City Hall figures hope a more complex pay-per-mile charging can be introduced by the end of the decade - though likely after Mr Khan leaves office.

It would see drivers face varying fees depending on the type of car, distance travelled and time of day, but road user charging has not been implemented anywhere approaching the scale of London.

While road schemes like a boundary charge sit within the mayor’s powers, the Conservative government could legislate to try and block it.

A TfL spokesperson said: “The £300m figure is an estimate for budgeting purposes, and is likely to change closer to May 2024.”