What is ULEZ?

ULEZ is the acronym for Ultra Low Emission Zone which is an area of London where a fee of £12.50 is charged to those who drive the most polluting vehicles. The charge of £12.50 applies 24 hours every day of the year except Christmas.

The vehicles subject to the charge are petrol cars and vans that do not meet Euro 4 standards which refer to the majority of vehicles made before 2006, whereas diesel vehicles that do not meet Euro 6 standards would have been made pre 2015.

Plans for a low emission zone in London were first discussed and placed under consideration during Boris Johnson’s term as Mayor of London. Sadiq Khan then assumed office and announced plans to expand the ULEZ zone beyond the perimeters of central London from the area that we now know of as the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ). Then in 2019, one year ahead of schedule, the first expansion was implemented to the streets of London.

The zone expanded again in October 2021 which covered most of the inner London area within the North and South Circular roads covering an area containing an estimated 3.8 million Londoners.

More recently it has been announced that the ULEZ zone will be expanding once more at the end of August (2023) up to the existing Low Emission Zone (LEZ) to create one single zone across all of London’s boroughs and in some areas the zone will reach up to and beyond the perimeters of the M25. This also means the majority of major motorways into London such as the M4 and M1 will now be within the zone.

The affected: Businesses, charities and families

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan recently announced a major expansion to the £110m ULEZ scrappage scheme run by TfL. The idea of the scheme is to provide financial support to help eligible Londoners scrap their vehicles that do not comply with the regulations replacing their older, more polluting vehicles with greener modes of transport. 

From the end of July thousands more Londoners and businesses can benefit from the scheme. All Londoners receiving child benefit are now eligible to apply alongside smaller businesses registered in the capital who employ fewer than 50 employees. Charities have also been considered, now allowing them to scrap or retrofit up to three vans or minibuses from the original decision of one.

The expansion of the scheme gives those who need it slightly more breathing room financially. There is an application process to go through and once the owner of the vehicle has been accepted, produced all evidence and shown certification proving the vehicle was destroyed they will then receive a cash grant or opt for a part cash payment alongside two adult annual bus passes instead. Transport for London says this is a deal worth £3000.

TFLs scheme is the best option for many small businesses and charities in London and Sadiq Khan has heard the stories and voices of those impacted. However, once a cash grant has been paid out for scrapping a vehicle a replacement will have to be purchased. Investing in a replacement has become difficult due to the demand of ULEZ compliant vehicles and this has skyrocketed the price on the forecourts.

DOTS London, a dog rescue charity, is one of many small charities directly impacted by the expansion and founder Michelle Clark said that the charity owns a transport van which has been kitted out specifically for the requirements of the job to safely transport and care for dogs.

Clark said: “Come August, we will have to get rid of the van and get a compliant one or pay the daily £12.50 fee. This is money we do not have and under the scrappage scheme, it won't be enough for what we need.

“We are going to need to find more money on top of the grant to keep running our service in a functional way.”

Clark explained the difficulties the charity is facing due to the costs of upgrading its vehicle or paying the daily fee as none of the vehicles used by the charity comply with the regulations.

Clark said: “How are we going to survive paying this? I can’t pick and choose which dogs to rescue because I’ve already paid the ULEZ three times in one week and can’t afford to do it every day. It breaks my heart because I feel like I’m letting them all down.”

The problems caused by the ULEZ expansion will affect people from all walks of life not to mention car enthusiasts, and more specifically classic car enthusiasts. When the ULEZ expands, 700,000 cars could be gone including special vehicles that are close to the hearts and minds of car enthusiasts and collectors across London. 

Vehicles built before January 1983 are exempt from paying road tax and the ULEZ charge. However, vehicles built after this date and up to 2015 leaves a gap of 32 years when cars were built that will no longer be able to be used on the streets of London. This means most vehicles from the 80s, 90s and early 2000s won’t be seen on the streets of London as we know them.

Where there is a problem there is a solution. Businesses have started to crop up around the UK which specialise in the electric conversion of cars which is seen as a great way to revitalise a heritage vehicle bringing it into the 21st century. The main part of the process involves removing the internal combustion engine and replacing it with a zero-emission powertrain in the form of a battery.