Ulez strands commuters two miles from public transport
RESIDENTS in hundreds of postcodes caught under Sadiq Khan’s Ulez expansion face a journey of more than two miles to the nearest public transport, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
Analysis of almost 330,000 postcodes across Greater London highlights transport deserts where people are heavily reliant on their car and are several miles away from a train or bus stop.
Almost a thousand postcodes across London are more than two miles away from the nearest tram, tube or train station. This is the equivalent of walking from Buckingham Palace to Brixton, an hour’s walk on Google Maps.
More than 9,000 postcodes are situated more than a mile away from a rail station, while 1,550 postcodes are more than 500 metres from a bus stop. The Ulez – Ultra Low Emission Zone – is due to expand to all 32 London boroughs in August.
Under the rules vehicles that do not pass Euro emissions standards will be required to pay a £12.50 charge every day they drive.
The expansion has been widely criticised, with complaints that many of these areas do not have the same level of transport links inner London has. On average, residents living in the outer London boroughs are 27 times more likely to live 500m from their nearest local transport compared to the outer London boroughs and 100 times more likely to live a mile away from a train or Tube station.
Nick Rogers, City Hall Conservatives transport spokesman, said: “Khan’s Ulez expansion will punish people in outer London who do not have access to viable public transport and cannot afford to buy a new car.”
Mr Khan has said that the aim of the Ulez expansion is to reduce the number of premature deaths from inhaling toxic air. The Mayor’s office was approached for comment.