Ulez row erupts as RAC says 700,000 cars will face £12.50 fee after expansion

24 March 2023, 08:53 | Updated: 24 March 2023, 11:43

The Ulez expansion row has erupted again over new figures that say nearly 700,000 extra cars will face daily charges.

In new figures that are at odds with City Hall’s assessment, the RAC found that a total of 691,000 licensed cars in Greater London will be unlikely to meet the standard and therefore subject to being charged.

The figure given by the RAC is far higher than the 210,000 estimated by the Mayor’s office.

The Ulez zone will cover all 32 London boroughs by the end of August.

Drivers whose vehicles do not meet European emissions standards will have to pay £12.50 every day they use their car within the boundary.

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Most petrol vehicles under 16 years old and diesels under six years old should comply.

The RAC figures are the first to show the total number of non-compliant cars registered to London addresses - based on DVLA data.

They then picked out every petrol car registered before 2006 and diesels registered before September 2015.

TfL’s 210,000 figure is based on camera analysis of the vehicles currently driving in the outer “doughnut” expansion area.

TfL says its latest analysis of cars travelling in outer London on an average day showed that 90 per cent of all vehicles in outer London were Ulez-compliant.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: "Cleaning up London's air should undoubtedly be a priority, but the sheer number of vehicles that don't meet Ulez emissions standards in Greater London suggests there will be a massive financial impact on motorists and businesses through having to fork out £12.50 every day they drive in the zone.

“We desperately need more co-ordination between the mayor and the Government to help small businesses, tradespeople, NHS staff and carers who have no choice but to drive into the expanded Ulez for work purposes from outside Greater London.

“Consideration should also be given to those who work at night when public transport is greatly reduced in the outer boroughs."

TfL is running a £110m scrappage scheme for vehicles that do not comply with the Ulez standards. More than 10,600 drivers have already applied and there are fears it will be massively oversubscribed.

The RAC urged Mr Khan to consider delaying the charges by a year for certain key workers.

 “Changing to a compliant vehicle at such short notice simply won't be something many will be able to afford, especially during a cost-of-living crisis and at a time when second-hand car prices are so high,” Mr Lyes said.