Today (August 29), London’s ULEZ expanded to encompass all London boroughs. The expansion means that the zone now covers an additional five million Londoners. Vehicles driving within the zone must meet emission standards, or drivers will have to pay a daily charge for any journeys they undertake.
The ULEZ expansion is another stage in Sadiq Khan’s goal of helping to clean London’s air.
The ULEZ (or Ultra Low Emission Zones) were first introduced in 2019. It was then expanded in October of 2021 when its coverage extended to another 3.8 million people. Plans to extend the ULEZ across all of London were confirmed in 2022.
The ULEZ operates “24 hours a day, midnight to midnight, every day of the year, except Christmas Day (25 December)”. Any vehicles driven within the blue area on this map are subject to ULEZ rules:
The red zone in the middle of the map is the Congestion Charge zone. The Congestion Charge aims to reduce car traffic in particularly busy central London areas. This operates “07:00-18:00 Monday-Friday, 12:00-18:00 Saturday-Sunday and bank holidays. [There is] no charge between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day bank holiday (inclusive)”.
This Congestion Charge applies in addition to ULEZ, so those driving into Central London would have to pay both charges.
Why has the ULEZ expanded?
Part of the criticism of the ULEZ expansion is that it now covers areas with less access to public transport, compared to Central London boroughs. However, according to Transport for London, “the greatest number of deaths related to air pollution occur in outer London areas. That’s why the ULEZ has expanded across all London boroughs.”
In February of this year, we reported on the news that the ULEZ rollout had resulted in a 46% fall in Central London emissions.
Money from the scheme goes towards improving and running London’s transport network.
Support for those impacted by the ULEZ expansion
With 9 out of 10 of the cars in outer London already meeting ULEZ emission standards, a large proportion of Londoners will not be impacted at all. But for those affected, a number of options have been presented. These include a “scrappage scheme and ULEZ support offers.” The scrappage scheme sees Londoners being offered £2,000 to scrap their non-ULEZ-compliant vehicles.
Support offers are available for small businesses and charities who need to “scrap or retrofit up to 3 vans or minibuses”. There are also offers for London residents, disabled people, and those whose plans to scrap or retrofit their non-compliant vehicles won’t be completed in time.
Additionally, a new network of buses servicing outer portions of London has been established: The Superloop. The service makes travel into the centre from the outer zones easier than before, with increased service and coverage.
Find out more about where and when the ULEZ scheme applies here.