ULEZ victory for Lib Dem Assembly Members

It’s just seven months till London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone expands across all boroughs, making millions more of the capital’s residents liable for charges. For a small vehicle like a car, the daily charge is £12.50.

This week, London’s Liberal Democrat Assembly members passed an amendment to the scheme which aims to help residents with the impact, including providing more buses:

Our amendment would:

  •  double the scrappage scheme with an additional £100 million and to allow Blue Badge holders to apply
  •  invest £25 million in bus services in Outer London, including demand-responsive buses such as Go Sutton Bus

You can see Caroline Pidgeon’s speech proposing it here:

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17 Comments

  • Mel Borthwaite 29th Jan '23 - 6:21pm

    I drive a 2 litre diesel (mondeo) – just checked and surprised to discover that I do not have to pay the charge for my car.

  • Nonconformistradical 29th Jan '23 - 6:47pm

    If it’s modern it might be compliant. The problems are for people who can’t afford to replace their non-compliant but essential car/van with a compliant one.

  • Barry Lofty 29th Jan '23 - 7:23pm

    Nonconformistradical: You have hit the nail on head, it is always the least able who are hit the hardest!

  • Martin Gray 29th Jan '23 - 8:40pm

    It’s always those at the bottom trying to scrape a living that wil be worse off ..The warehouse worker , shelf stacker , care worker etc . Living from one pay month to another with hardly any disposable income available..
    Net zero will be the same..It’s not feasible to get on a bus , or tube train at unsocial hours, & let’s face it – what woman would feel safe !
    It’s a token gesture – no more.

  • Jason Connor 29th Jan '23 - 9:05pm

    I agree with the last 3 comments above. It is the poorest who suffer. A similar analogy is the road closures schemes which shifted the extra traffic onto boundary roads where there is more social housing. This is exactly what happened where I live meanwhile wealthy householders with houses worth up to £1m closed their roads off despite having green spaces on their doorsteps. A group of us campaigned against the measures and we reversed them. The council had failed to take into account the needs of people with a protected characteristic.

  • Peter Davies 29th Jan '23 - 9:54pm

    It’s not the poorest who will suffer. The poorest (especially in London) don’t own vehicles. The owners of old vans are typically small to medium businesses whose owners are on above average incomes. The owners of old cars are mostly people who don’t need cars at all. It is feasable to get on a bus at unsocial times. I do it regularly along with a large number of poor people and women. They go everywhere in London all day and most places all night. With multiple cctv cameras they are probably safer than driving after a late shift.

    Poor people are the main victims of poor air quality.

  • Nonconformistradical 29th Jan '23 - 10:11pm

    @Peter Davies
    “The owners of old vans are typically small to medium businesses whose owners are on above average incomes.”
    One minor problem – it seems there aren’t enough compliant vans to go round.
    https://www.itv.com/news/london/2023-01-23/not-enough-new-vehicles-to-cope-with-new-pollution-zone-rules
    “A report commissioned by Transport for London estimated that 30,000 non-compliant vans currently use the Ulez expansion area each day.
    But figures from Auto Trader – which says it is used by around 80% of UK vehicle retailers – show there are just 5,181 vans for sale across London and south-east England on its online marketplace.
    Its total for the whole of the UK is 23,803.”

  • @Peter ….Many women don’t share your confidence as regards thier safety – CCTV or not .
    Workers needing to get to certain places at unsocialable hours on multiple occasions, is different than a trip down to the shops . Night buses are completely unpractical …

  • Peter Davies 30th Jan '23 - 6:28am

    @nonconformistradical. 80% of dealers place some of their vehicles on AutoTrader’s online marketplace. When you include the vehicles they don’t put online and the other 20% there are more than 30000 available in the UK at any one time. Assuming that they will turn their stock over several times before ULEZ expansion and adding in private sales and vans that can be made conformant, there should be enough. Of course some of those 30000 will be occasional visitors from outside Greater London for whom upgrading would be unnecessary and from whom TFL will be happy to take money.

  • Barry Lofty 30th Jan '23 - 9:18am

    It seems that there are several councils in the London area who share our concerns about the ULEX expansion !
    BBC News 30/01/23

  • Jenny Barnes 30th Jan '23 - 10:55am

    @ martin gray
    ULEZ compliant 100mpg scooters for less than £2k
    electric bicycles about £1k
    quality human powered cycles about £500.
    Not everyone has to have a car to move about

  • Nonconformistradical 30th Jan '23 - 12:18pm

    @Jenny Barnes
    Indeed not everyone needs a car but many tradespeople need vans – it’s just not practicable for them given they need lots of tools, ladders etc.

  • The Libdem amendments seem fair enough but they do involve spending money, at a time when The Greater London authority is particularly strapped for cash. Money spent on these schemes is money not spent on something else.
    Surely, if We stand for anything its for defending the Sick & defenceless ?
    Isn’t some of this Opposition for its own sake ?
    My instinct is that we should be backing Khan on this.

  • Jenny Barnes 30th Jan '23 - 2:39pm

    “many tradespeople need vans” Ofc they do. I’m not suggesting every journey can be done without motorised transport, but many can.

  • Jason Connor 30th Jan '23 - 3:35pm

    London on the whole is not a safe city. I live in inner London and experience ASB on a regular basis. Buses are not always very safe. I felt threatened when travelling on a hopper bus recently and reported an incident to TfL. It has put me off using them. Those of us who are vulnerable need to feel safe when travelling not at risk. CCTV cameras are good for catching offenders but do not prevent crime. I use my car sparingly for heavy shopping and supporting my elderly 90 year old father, will continue to do so and not be dictated to by people with power, privilege and status on this issue. I fully sympathise with tradespeople struggling to make a living and transporting heavy materials. A recent FOI request from my local NHS Trust revealed most hospital admissions for respiratory or related illnesses are caused by smoking/passive smoking, the figure for traffic is negligible. As a council tenant I stick by comment that it is the poorest who suffer. Many vulnerable people in my block do own cars but we’re often marginalised by groups with their own agenda. I am going to continue campaigning against them.

  • Nonconformistradical 30th Jan '23 - 5:42pm

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/30/electric-vans-startup-arrival-to-cut-800-jobs-amid-focus-on-us-market
    “The British electric vans startup Arrival is cutting 800 jobs, about half its remaining workforce, to reduce costs as it seeks extra funding and plans US expansion to take advantage of green energy subsidies….

    The US-listed company has switched its strategy from focusing on the UK to developing a foothold in the US van market, with plans to start production in Charlotte, north Carolina, next year “subject to raising additional capital”.

    It hopes to benefit from Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, a package of $369bn in subsidies and tax credits for companies investing in electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies, as long as the products and parts they manufacture are made in the US.”

  • Jenny Barnes 30th Jan '23 - 5:55pm

    From the Guardian on the ULEZ scheme:
    “The owners of about 30,000 vehicles are expected to access payouts from the scrappage scheme, which opened on Monday on a first-come, first-serve basis. Eligible drivers, including Londoners who have a disability or on lower incomes, can get up to £2,000 cash, while charities, sole traders and small businesses can receive up to £9,500 to replace or retrofit their old, polluting vehicles.”

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