MP’s warning over ULEZ expansion
MPS have accused Sadiq Khan of deploying the ULEZ charge as another way to “fill the black hole of TfL’s finances” while warning families in London’s outer boroughs are moving out of the capital to avoid the prospect of the zone extending.
A consultation to expand the Ultra-low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to the whole of London has been launched by the mayor of London.
If successful, the most polluting vehicles entering the capital would have to pay a £12.50 daily charge from August 29, 2023. Conservative MP for Carshalton and Wallington, Elliot Colburn says some of his constituents are so desperate they are looking to sell their homes and move out of London. He has set up a petition against the zone being expanded.
“We have a lot of elderly and disabled residents here who rely on their cars to maintain independence or get to work,” he said. “Likewise there are people, for example hairdressers who visits homes, who have to drive because they can’t carry their equipment on the bus. Sadiq Khan does not seem to understand that public transport is not functional or accessible for everyone.”
Even for those who can use public transport, Mr Colburn said driving might still be their only way of getting to work due to TfL cuts. Earlier this month, TfL announced a consultation on the biggest cuts in decades.
It could lead to 250 buses removed from services, with 16 routes axed and 78 amended, if the Government does not provide a long-term capital funding settlement.
Louie French, Conservative MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, is also petitioning against the expansion of ULEZ and has gained thousands of signatures. He says, due to the current cost of living crisis and rising fuel prices many of his constituents with non-compliant cars simply cannot afford the daily charge of £12.50, which equates to £4,500 per year.
He added that an expansion would hit key workers in particular, with 49 per cent of Met Police officers living outside the capital and travelling in daily. Nurses at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and other London hospitals have reported being charged twice, totalling £25, as their shifts can start in the evening and finish the next morning.
Mr French said he is “very concerned that more nurses and key workers will leave our local services to work outside of London because the ULEZ charge means it is unaffordable for them to continue working in the capital”. Motoring group AA has urged the mayor to suspend the ULEZ levy.
Instead of acknowledging the impact ULEZ will have on commuters forced to drive next week, a spokesperson for the Mayor said: “At the heart of this industrial action is the Government’s appalling approach to transport across the country, not least its continued resistance to delivering the sustainable funding TfL desperately needs. With TfL expecting the capital’s roads to be more congested next week, it’s important people travel only if essential and the mayor is calling on Londoners to cycle and walk whenever possible in order to reduce pollution and minimise congestion”.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has previously said expanding the charging zone will improve air quality across the capital. He said: “The air Londoners breathe is so toxic it stunts children’s lungs, exacerbates chronic illness and contributes to thousands of premature deaths each year. More than half of the 500,000 Londoners with asthma live in outer London and all areas of London still breach safe levels of pollution.
“That’s why my proposals for expanding the Ultra -Low Emission Zone are the right thing to do. Air pollution is not just a central London issue and Londoners in the outer boroughs should be able to enjoy the clean air benefits the ULEZ brings.”
Mr French is sceptical that the ULEZ expansion would clean London’s air and says he has seen “no concrete evidence” to suggest it has made a difference in the current ULEZ areas. He accused Sadiq Khan instead of using thee levy as a way of “filling the black hole the mayor has made in TfL’s finances”, despite bailouts worth over £4 billion that the Government have provided to City Hall and TfL. The TfL consultation closes on July 29, 2022.