Over a million commuters to be hit by Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion, London Tories claim
More than a million people that commute into London could be hit by Sadiq Khan’s expansion of the City’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ), City Hall Conservatives have argued.
Under the expansion, motorists with petrol and diesel cars that don’t meet emissions standards will face a £12.50 daily charge or a £180 fine for each journey into Greater London from August 29.
A total of 1,226,586 non-compliant vehicles in the commuter belt, including 373,288 petrol cars and 853,298 powered by diesel, will be hit by the change, the Conservatives found, citing DVLA data obtained by a Freedom of Information request.
The worst hit areas by the ULEZ expansion will include Reading, Guildford and Tunbridge Wells, which have over 135,000, 131,000, and 124,000 non-compliant cars respectively, the party said.
“Londoners and commuters shouldn’t have to foot the bill for another one of Mayor Khan’s half baked ideas,” Greg Hands, Conservative party chairman, said. “Cleaning up air quality in the city is important, but hard-working people, businesses and local services shouldn’t be penalised in the process.”
“There is huge opposition to the mayor’s damaging cash grab policy, with hundreds of thousands of people signing petitions rallying against it,” Hands said. “It’s time Khan started listening to what Londoners have to say, instead of taking them for granted and ignoring their concerns.”
The Mayor of London’s office was not immediately available for comment.
A spokesperson for the Labour party, however, said: “These figures simply do not reflect reality. TfL data shows that 9 in 10 cars seen driving in outer London are already ULEZ compliant.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “This ‘analysis’ is misleading nonsense. The ULEZ is a highly targeted scheme and the latest data from Transport for London shows 90 per cent of cars driving in outer London now meet ULEZ standards.”
Khan’s expansion faces a judicial review after five Conservative councils – Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon and Surrey – filed a case. The review is set to be heard in July.