Category Archives: CAZ Schemes

Sadiq Khan has announced some improvements to the ULEZ Scrappage Scheme.

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Presumably this is to try and pacify those who are criticising the ULEZ expansion to outer London. But the amount of money involved (£50 million) is nowhere near enough to enable those who qualify to buy a replacement new vehicle.

It’s also offered on a “first come, first served basis” and the pot will quickly run dry. In addition it only applies to those who live in London so the many tens of thousands of people who live in the home counties but commute into outer London will not qualify. This is what Mayoral candidate Susan Hall had this to say: “”This is too little, too late from Sadiq Khan, who is facing mounting pressure from Londoners and his own party. Thousands of families, small businesses and charities face financial ruin because of Sadiq Khan’s Ulez expansion, which will do next to nothing to improve air quality”. That’s spot on.

The only solution to this madness is to either replace the Mayor at the ballot box in May or for Government to remove his powers to act like a dictator, which he has been misusing. Repeat after me: “There is no air quality health crisis”. It’s just scaremongering by the Mayor to raise taxes to fix his financial mismanagement of TfL”.

Mayor’s Press Release: https://www.london.gov.uk/media-centre/mayors-press-release/MAYOR-ANNOUNCES-SCRAPPAGE-EXPANSION

On a personal note, I did not qualify for the original scrappage scheme even though I am disabled, hold a blue badge and live in London. That has not changed. Scrappage schemes are always severely limited and only enable you to buy a second-hand poor-quality vehicle.

Roger Lawson Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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Air Quality Reality Very Different to London Mayor’s Claims

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There was an interesting article just published by Shazad Sheikh on measuring air quality in London. He purchased an ELITech Air Monitoring device and used it on the streets of central London and in underground and train stations. The device measures particulates (PM 2.5 and PM10) which are known to be air pollutants that are the most hazardous to health and the results were most interesting – see his article here: https://browncarguy.com/2023/07/03/ulez-air-quality-test-pt-1-2/

It shows that in general the air quality on the streets is unlikely to be a major health hazard as Sadiq Khan claims but the contrary is true in stations.

Note that the device does not measure NOX gasses but these are unlikely to be a health hazard anyway despite what some people claim because they are easier to measure.

You can purchase one of these devices and test the local air quality in your own neighbourhood which I plan to do (Shazad provides a discount code you can use).

Meanwhile Sadiq Khan ignores the problem of very bad air pollution on London’s underground while wanting to penalise car drivers when they are not a significant problem. This is driven by money considerations of course. He can extract money from drivers with ULEZ schemes while cleaning up underground air quality would cost him money.

The Plan to Stop Driving in London

It is very clear that Sadiq Khan and his supporters in the environmental lobbyists are on a mission to stop all driving in London. This was made clear in a document entitled “Next steps for reducing emissions from road transport” published by TfL last year but not widely publicised – see https://content.tfl.gov.uk/next-steps-for-reducing-emissions-from-road-transport.pdf .

This is a call to stop all CO2 emissions from transport in the name of stopping climate change – an impossible task. The document tries to justify expansion of the ULEZ, charges on all vehicles other than zero emission ones and pay per mile charging on all vehicles. It’s an unscientific attack on the use of road transport in general. Read it and be horrified by what is planned!

Only removing Sadiq Khan and the current management of TfL will stop, this unjustified attempt to change our way of life.

Meanwhile the hearing in the High Court of the judicial review challenging the ULEZ expansion commences today (see  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66094244 ). It could be some weeks before a judgement is given and the outcome is uncertain.

Roger Lawson

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Debates on Parliamentary Petitions re ULEZ/CAZ Schemes   

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This week in Parliament there were two Westminster Hall debates on parliamentary petitions that got enough public support to get debated. These covered these issues:

  • On Road User Charging Schemes, revoke local government powers to charge CAZ, LEZ, and ULEZ.
  • Amend the 1999 GLA Act to remove the [London] Mayor’s power to impose road use charges”.

Although Labour MPs apparently mostly chose not attend, so avoiding any embarrassment no doubt in having to support unpopular policies, there were useful contributions from Conservative MPs.

    It’s easier to follow what was said by reading the Hansard extract which is here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-06-26/debates/077638E8-599B-45E5-BB61-7BBDF9DA6073/RoadUserChargingSchemes

    Gareth Bacon, MP for Orpington in South East London made several good points. He said his constituents quite rightly saw the ULEZ as a “tax-grabbing scheme to fill the holes in Transport for London’s finances”. He pointed out that the public consultation was manipulated by the Mayor and hundreds of cameras were ordered even before the consultation was launched.

    It’s well worth reading what was said in the debate which highlighted the costs being imposed on many people who live in outer London when the impact on air pollution will be negligible.

    Roger Lawson

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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    Two Petitions We Supported to be Debated in Parliament

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    The two petitions are requesting the revoking of powers to charge for CAZ, LEZ and ULEZ schemes and amend the 1999 GLA Act to remove the Mayor of London’s powers to impose road user charging.

    Both petitions got enough signatures to justify debates in Parliament which will take place on the 26th June. Please encourage your MP to attend and give their views.

    These may appear to be technical matters but this legislation has enabled local councils and Sadiq Khan to raise very large amounts of tax which are totally unjustified.

    Don’t let MPs fob you off with excuses about the need to cut traffic congestion and save the planet from global warming by cutting vehicle emissions. It’s all about money, not the environment.

    You should be able to watch the debates on the Parliament TV BBC Channel.

    Roger Lawson

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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    Grant Shapps for Prime Minister?

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    Transport Minister Grant Shapps has announced his candidacy for the position of Prime Minister and with two others yesterday the field is getting quite crowded.

    But Shapps has a very poor record as Transport Minister. Among his negative contributions has been the promotion of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) to tackle the Covid epidemic – a totally misconceived policy and implemented without local consultations; support for HS2 – an enormous white elephant; a rewrite of the Highway Code which makes some people more equal than others on the road; a £2 billion investment in cycling and walking to promote “active travel” and “behaviour change” and he keeps bailing out Transport for London (TfL) allowing Sadiq Khan to continue to run an uneconomic service instead of reforming it. His response to the national rail strikes has also been to line up for a fight with the unions while committing £1 billion to “modernisation” of the railways; basically throwing more money at an uneconomic and outdated transport technology.

    Meanwhile the road transport network gets ever more congested and drivers pay ever more in taxes and road charges such as in CAZ and ULEZ schemes.

    I certainly would not support Shapps for Prime Minister. But what of the other candidates? A number wish to cut taxes. A laudable policy but to be able to do that without increasing public borrowing means a reduction in public expenditure. None seem to be promising that (for example Shapps wants to spend considerably more on defence).

    We would all like a cut in the price of diesel/petrol which might help to stimulate the economy as high prices impact the delivery of goods and services. But most of the increase of late has come from the market price of oil not from taxes (Fuel Duty rates have actually been reduced recently).

    Rishi Sunak seems to be one of the few candidates who is wisely not promising hand-outs to the electorate if he gets the job.

    But no doubt we will learn more about the other candidates over the next few weeks. As in previous Conservative Party elections, it may be a case of who avoids the most gaffs and who is least disliked by MPs that wins the day. Boris Johnson only got the job because he seemed likely to break the deadlock over Brexit but there should surely be no rush to appoint a replacement.

    Roger Lawson

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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    The Good News and the Bad

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    The good news is that Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is proposing to drop plans for a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) scheme that would charge motorists similar to the Birmingham and London schemes. But it depends on agreement with the Government. The charging scheme had already been “paused” until 2026 but now looks like it will be scrapped. Signs already put up for the scheme will need to be removed. See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-61439444 for more details.

    The bad news is that the Daily Telegraph have reported that the Government is to finance Mini-Holland cycling schemes to encourage people to ditch their cars in Britain’s major cities under government plans.

    Nineteen local authorities, including Manchester, Hull and Nottinghamshire, are to get government funds for mini-Hollands with segregated bike lanes, traffic calming and residential streets blocked to cars.

    It is suggested officials have steered away from describing any of the projects as Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), which have provoked intense local opposition over road closures and claims of increased congestion on boundary highways in some areas. But they did acknowledge some had LTN features. See Telegraph article here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/14/wheels-motion-turn-british-cities-cycle-friendly-mini-hollands/

    Comment: I cannot understand why people think that Holland is a good example to follow. There may be more cycling in some Dutch cities such as Amsterdam but nationally there are more casualties to cyclists than in the UK and traffic congestion is also worse. There is no evidence that introducing such schemes increases cycling (or “active travel”) in the UK. Cycling remains a fair-weather transport mode only followed by young males in flat locations. If people calling for mini-Hollands actually bothered to visit Holland they would see a very different picture. The only good aspect is that Holland has encouraged more off-road cycle paths that separate vehicle traffic from cyclists.  

    Instead of spending £200 million on encouraging cycling the Government should spend it on improving the road network to improve road safety and cut traffic congestion.

    Another good article in the Telegraph was entitled “Why Boris and the elite are determined to wean us off the car”. It said “Exasperated motorists are feeling pushed out of the picture with rising fuel costs, congestion charges, low traffic zones and speeding fines, and motorists, especially those who travel into cities, feel they are being hit from every direction. Dead ahead there are closed off roads in low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs); to the left there are automated cameras monitoring their every move; to the right low emission zones and 20mph limits. And all around are parking charges and fuel costs that put a hefty dent in your wallet”; “There has now developed in Government an anti-car attitude as opposed to car management, a hostility to the motor vehicle rather than how we can manage this, says former transport minister John Spellar. He puts this down to a London-centric approach to transport that focuses on the problems cars cause in congested cities and ignores different conditions in other areas. As Spellar points out, working Britons outside the capital – particularly manual and shift workers – often rely on their vehicles to get to work, unlike city commuters who can travel by train”. See https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/features/boris-elite-determined-wean-us-car/ for the full article.

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    Manchester Campaign Against CAZ and Bromley Air Quality

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    While Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, plans to expand his ULEZ scheme, in Manchester there has been a very effective campaign against their proposed CAZ scheme. Mayor Andy Burnham is now back-tracking on the proposals.

    Daily charges for the most polluting vehicles that don’t meet emission standards – HGVs, buses, non-Greater Manchester licensed taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs) – had been due to begin on 30 May 2022 but will now not go ahead. The withdrawn legal direction would have led to charges for non-compliant vans, Greater Manchester-licensed taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) from June 2023. Private cars, motorcycles and mopeds were exempt. Concerns about financial hardship for local people and the availability of compliant vehicles led the Mayor of Greater Manchester and Greater Manchester local authority leaders to ask government to lift its legal direction. Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities have until 1 July 2022 to work with government to develop a new plan that will clean up the air while protecting livelihoods.

    The campaign against the Manchester CAZ has 90,000 supporters under the banner Rethink GM. Go here for more information: www.rethinkgm.co.uk and to register support. On the home page click “Forums” then “Register” with just your name and email. The web site also provides a link to an active Facebook page.

    Meanwhile the London Borough of Bromley have shown that it is not necessary to impose expensive ULEZ or CAZ schemes to clean up the air (most of that borough is outside the London ULEZ scheme). A press release from Bromley reports that updated data from the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory shows that between 2016 and 2019 there was a 23% decline in NO2 across the borough, a 19% decline in PM2.5 and a 28% decline in PM10 particulates.

    Bromley claims to now be the “cleanest and greenest borough in London”.

    For more details see Bromley press release here: https://www.bromley.gov.uk/news/article/2825/big_improvements_in_air_quality

    Comment: Bromley has of course ignored demands for LTNs and road closures and is keen to keep traffic moving. But they have pursued positive initiatives such as electric bus trials. Unlike many Labour controlled boroughs in London they have taken a more empirical and less dogmatic approach to the air quality issue.

    Readers are reminded that the London ULEZ did little to contribute to improvements in air quality so why is the Mayor wanting to expand it? See https://freedomfordrivers.blog/2021/11/17/ulez-had-minimal-impact-on-air-pollution/ . It will cost a great deal to install hundreds of new cameras to expand the zone and high operating costs, apart from the impact on residents who will need to buy new vehicles or pay £12.50 per day. Although the Mayor says he has abandoned the idea of a boundary charge for people driving into London from outside, the extra cameras will make it very easy to introduce such a scheme!

    Roger Lawson

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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