We have always argued that the ULEZ scheme was mainly about generating tax money for the Mayor of London, not about reducing air pollution. And so it has turned out to be based on an analysis by the RAC.
They report that the income from non-compliant vehicles was £112 million in the eight months after the scheme was expanded in November 2021 plus over £130 million in penalty charges from those who don’t pay.
Head of Roads Policy at the RAC said “The expansion of the ULEZ has resulted in a much-increased revenue stream for Transport for London, notwithstanding the costs associated with introducing the larger ULEZ. Londoners living outside the current ULEZ will now be worrying about the prospect of further expansion……While we accept that action is needed to reduce toxic emissions from vehicles, the cost-of-living crisis is hurting drivers in the pocket and there is a risk that further enlarging the zone will be hugely costly for those with older vehicles who can least afford to change them for something newer”.
In April 2020 we said this about the ULEZ expansion: “It would be simply madness to proceed with the ULEZ expansion based on what we now know. But the Mayor is now so desperate for money that he might increase the proposed charge, expand the zone even further, or class even more vehicles as “non-compliant”. See https://freedomfordrivers.blog/2020/04/15/ulez-the-latest-information-including-poor-financial-outcome/ for the analysis done at the time on which those comments were based.
The ULEZ is another example of the financial incompetence of Mayor Sadiq Khan which is imposing enormous costs on Londoners.
Roger Lawson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London
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Well done RAC – I am a satisfied member – we need your support, we do not need an incompetent, interfering Mayor of London!
We would be mad, then, to believe despite majority opposition from the public, other Councils and Industry that TfL won’t extend the ULEZ. After all, their mouth piece, Mr Khan, did point out it was a consultation not a referendum.
Thank you R.A.C for the information and for highlighting the effect a further ULEZ expansion will have on those less well-off in society who will not be able to afford to purchase a compliant vehicle. It is likely to have a major impact on their lives especially as the outer London boroughs are not as well served by public transport as the inner London boroughs. I am sure there are other ways that air pollution can be improved. This scheme seems to be a “cash-cow” for TFL. The consultation concluded in July, when are we going to know the decision?