Transport for London today started charging the owners of older, more polluting vehicles to enter an Ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ). The drivers of older vehicles, including motorcycles, now have to pay £12.50 on top of the congestion charge to enter the centre of the capital. Diesel cars must be less than roughly four years old to avoid the charge, while petrol cars and motorcycles must be less than about 13 years old.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said the scheme was introduced because "thousands of Londoners were dying early every year as a result of toxic air, with an increased risk of cancer, asthma, dementia and stroke". He claimed the zone would "help clean our air and reduce harmful road transport emissions".
The British Heart Foundation has welcomed the new zone, saying it will "help reduce the 36,000 deaths caused in the UK every year by outdoor pollution".
“The Ulez will help reduce the levels of dangerous pollutants in the air Londoners breathe and crucially, it will help to protect the health of the most vulnerable people across the capital,” said the charity’s chief executive, Simon Gillespie.
“Air pollution is a major threat to the UK’s health, and contributes to thousands of heart attacks and strokes every year. BHF-funded research has shown that tiny particles emitted from diesel vehicles can enter our bloodstream and silently damage our heart and circulatory systems.
“We now need to see other cities across the UK following suit, and more ambitious plans put in place nationally and locally to ensure that everyone gets the right to breathe air that won’t harm them. We need to see this action as soon as possible, beginning with the adoption of World Health Organisation (WHO) air pollution limits into UK law.”
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