London leads the way

London leads the way

Announced this week by the Mayor of London, the toxicity charge (T-charge) will be a fee of £10 affecting motorists who drive diesel and petrol cars with Pre-Euro 4 engines in central London starting in October. This will work alongside the existing congestion charge of £11.50, meaning that drivers of cars classified as “polluting” will be looking at paying £21.50 a day to drive around central London. The aim is to improve London’s air quality by discouraging the owners of high emissions vehicles to drive into central London.

Nor is that all. ULEZ, which stands for “Ultra low emissions zone” will replace the T-charge as of 8 April 2019. It involves a fee for pre-Euro 4 vehicles rising to £12.50, meaning affected drivers will be slapped with a total daily fee of £24.

If London Mayor Sadiq Khan has his way, ULEZ will then be expanded in 2020, with a view to adding taxis, buses, HGVs and coaches, which could be charged up to £100 to drive in the zone under the scheme. The mayor believes that as a direct result of this, Nitrous Oxide levels will be cut up to 50% by 2020. ULEZ would represent the world’s first ultra-low emissions zone.

Both initiatives intend to “price out” members of the public who frequent central London from owning and driving high emissions vehicles. It is estimated that 10,000 vehicles will be affected by the T-charge.