By PTI
LONDON: London Mayor Sadiq Khan has expanded the area covered by the British capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) from central London to inner areas.
The new zone, effective from Monday, is 18 times the size of the central London zone and now covers 3.8 million people up to, but not including, the North Circular (A406) and South Circular (A205) Roads.
Drivers of vehicles which do not comply with minimum emissions standards will be charged 12.50 pounds to drive within the ULEZ as the area covered becomes 18 times larger.
The ULEZ expansion, alongside tighter London-wide Low Emission Zone (LEZ) standards for heavy vehicles introduced in March, are expected to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from road transport by 30 per cent across London in 2021.
“I pledged to be the greenest Mayor London’s ever had and I am incredibly proud that expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone will clean up London’s toxic air pollution and help tackle the global climate emergency by reducing emissions,” said Khan.
“In central London, the ULEZ has already helped cut toxic roadside nitrogen dioxide pollution by nearly half and led to reductions that are five times greater than the national average. But pollution isn’t just a central London problem, which is why expanding the ULEZ will benefit Londoners across the whole of the city and is a crucial step in London’s green recovery from this pandemic,” he said.
The ULEZ is described as a crucial step towards the Mayor’s ambitions to tackle the climate emergency and put London on the path to be a net zero carbon city by 2030.
Khan said: “This is also about social justice we know pollution hits the poorest Londoners, who are least likely to own a car, the hardest, which is why I’m doing everything I can to improve air quality and protect the health of all Londoners.”
“I will not stand by while pollution leads to 4,000 Londoners dying early each year and our children growing up with stunted lungs. The expanded ULEZ is a vital step towards helping combat London’s illegal air and reducing the emissions that are harming our planet.”
An awareness campaign has been underway over the past three years to ensure drivers and businesses are ready for the ULEZ expansion, with Transport for London’s (TfL) online vehicle checker being used more than 20 million times since 2018.
“The central ULEZ that launched in April 2019 was a world first and has already seen harmful nitrogen dioxide slashed by 44 per cent,” said Alex Williams, TfL’s Director of City Planning.
“We are now seeing 87 per cent vehicles in the zone meeting the standard, this is much than we would have expected if the scheme hadn’t been introduced, and it highlights how the scheme has already been effective in cleaning up London’s air. For those liable for the charge, we would ask them to consider walking and cycling where possible, or using public transport,” he said.
With the high compliance rate, the Mayor of London’s office says it is expected only 110,000 vehicles each day are likely to need to pay the 12.50 pounds charge.
