Ultra Low Emission Zone

Plans for an ultra–low emission zone were under consideration since 2014 under London Mayor Boris Johnson.[2] Johnson announced in 2015 that the zone covering the same areas as the Central London congestion charge would come into operation in September 2020. Sadiq Khan, Johnson's successor, introduced an emissions surcharge, called the Toxicity Charge or "T-Charge", for non-compliant vehicles from 2017.[3][4] The Toxicity Charge was replaced by the Ultra Low Emission Zone on 8 April 2019, which was introduced ahead of schedule.

The zone was expanded to cover the Inner London area inside the North Circular and South Circular roads on 25 October 2021 so that it covers an area containing 3.8 million people.[5][6] Around a million vehicles a day drive in the expanded zone, but Transport for London (TfL) estimated that 87% were already compliant with the emissions rules, meaning nearly 140,000 vehicles would have to be replaced or pay the charge, including 100,000 cars, 35,000 vans, and 3,000 heavy goods vehicles.[7][8]

A month into the expansion, TfL said that the proportion of compliant vehicles had risen from 87% to 92%, and the number of non-compliant vehicles had fallen by over a third (from 127,000 to 80,000 on weekdays). They also said that 94% of cars complied compared to 78% of vans.[9] Six months after the expansion, TfL estimated that NOx in Inner London was 20% lower than it would have been without the expansion and found that 95% of cars and 83% of vans now met the standard.[10]

The ULEZ was expanded on 29 August 2023 to cover all 32 London boroughs, bringing an additional five million people into the zone.[11] The new outer boundary coincides with the London low emission zone. It covers most of Greater London, with minor deviations to allow diversionary routes and facilities to turn around without entering the zone.[12][13]

In March 2022, TfL estimated that 20,000 to 40,000 vehicles would be taken off the road due to the expansion. Khan said: "This is also a matter of social justice – with air pollution hitting the poorest communities the hardest. Nearly half of Londoners don't own a car, but they are disproportionally feeling the damaging consequences polluting vehicles are causing."[14]

The £12.50 charge applies 24 hours a day every day of the year except Christmas Day (25 December).[15] The criteria for charging is based on European emission standards:

• Motorcycles that do not meet Euro 3 standards (most vehicles pre-2007)
• Petrol cars and vans that do not meet Euro 4 standards (most vehicles pre-2006)
• Diesel cars and vans that do not meet Euro 6 standards (most vehicles pre-2015)

Buses, coaches, and heavy goods vehicles must meet or exceed the Euro VI standard or pay £100 per day as part of the separate London low emission zone. Drivers entering central London who have paid for ULEZ are still subject to the London congestion charge.

The money raised from the ULEZ is invested in the transport network and other measures to reduce air pollution in London.[16] In 2022 the zone raised £224m in charges and fines. The income from ULEZ declined from month to month in 2022 as more vehicles entering the zone became compliant with emissions standards.[17]

Vehicles in the "disabled" tax class are exempt from the charge, as are London-licensed taxis, private hire vehicles which are wheelchair accessible, and historic vehicles (over 40 years old). There are also exemptions for agricultural vehicles, military vehicles, certain types of mobile cranes and non-road going vehicles which are allowed to drive on the highway (e.g. excavators).[18] Residents of the zone did not pay the charge until October 2021, provided they were registered for the residents' Congestion Charge discount and met the T-Charge standards.

There was a scrappage scheme to help those on income support or disability benefit to get rid of their old vehicle. This was used to scrap at least 12,000 vehicles. The original scheme offered up to £7,000 compensation for a car or van which had been operating in the congestion zone, plus up to £2,500 if this was replaced by an electric vehicle.[19]

When ULEZ was expanded beyond the congestion charge zone, the compensation was reduced to £2,000 for cars with a limit for the number of vans and initially £15,000 for heavy vehicles. The Mayor said on 14 October 2021 that there was less than £2 million left in the £61 million fund.[20] This paid out over £61 million by 2022.

The rates for the scrappage scheme from 4 August 2023 were announced at the end of July 2023. Receipt of child benefit was added to the criteria for eligibility. £2,000 is offered for scrapping a car and £1,000 for a motorcycle. £5,000 is offered for wheelchair accessible vehicles to scrap or retrofit to make compliant. Part of the scrappage payment can be converted to an annual bus and tram pass. Grant payments of between £5,000 and £9,500 are available for scrappage or retrofit of vans and minibuses used by small businesses, sole traders and charities.[21] The scheme was later widened to all Londoners and small businesses able to scrap up to three vans instead of one, taking effect from 21 August 2023.[22]

In November 2021, a study from the Centre for Transport Studies in Imperial College London found the ULEZ caused smaller reductions in air pollution emissions than had been reported.[23][24] It stated that there has been a longer-term downward trend in London's air pollution levels and argued that the ULEZ on its own is not an effective strategy.[23][25] The Greater London Authority had been funding other work at the College since July 2020, including the Environmental Research Group.[26] Freedom of Information requests published in August 2023 showed Shirley Rodrigues, the deputy mayor for environment and energy, and Frank Kelly, Director of the Environmental Research Group, corresponded in November 2021 about mitigating for the impact of the research.[27] Further research has found that ULEZ has had significant effects in reducing air pollution. A 2022 study published in the Journal of Environmental Health found statistically significant reductions in nitrogen dioxide levels in the first 90 days after the introduction of the ULEZ. Another 2022 article, in the journal Atmospheric Pollution Research, examined the impact of ULEZ in its first year, finding a reduction in nitrogen dioxide concentrations of about 12% inside the zone compared with the year before its implementation.[28]

The number of non-compliant vehicles entering the zone each day dropped from 35,578, in March 2019, to 26,195 in April of the same year, after the charge was introduced.[29] The number further dropped to 23,054 in July 2019.[30] The proportion of vehicles which complied with the standards rose from 61% in March 2019 to 74% in September 2019.[31] It further rose to 85% in December 2020, including 90% for cars, and the number of non-compliant vehicles dropped to around 12,000 (of which 4,000 were exempt from the charges).[32][33]

The total number of vehicles entering Central London each day also dropped from over 102,000 in February 2017 to 89,000 in April 2019.[34]

The planned expansion of ULEZ into outer London was cited as the reason for the Conservatives' Steve Tuckwell's victory over Labour's Danny Beales in the 2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, despite substantial swings against the Conservatives in all three by-elections held the same day.[35]

In May 2023, a coalition of Bexley Council, Bromley Council, Harrow Council and Hillingdon Council in Greater London with neighbouring Surrey County Council received permission from the High Court for a legal challenge to the August 2023 expansion into outer London. The permitted grounds for the claim were "failure to comply with relevant statutory requirements" and "unfair and unlawful consultation". Two further grounds concerned the scrappage scheme, "whether the mayor properly considered the previous "buffer zone" approach as a material consideration" and "irrationality due to uncertainty and inadequate consultation".[44] The hearing began on 4 July and the case was dismissed on 28 July 2023 when the outer expansion was found to be lawful.[45][46][47]

Since 2023, the cameras that enforce ULEZ have come under a campaign of organised vandalism by vigilantes who oppose it. The group, calling themselves "Blade Runners", told the Daily Mail they intend to destroy all ULEZ cameras.[48] Speaking to Julia Hartley Brewer on TalkTV, a man claiming to be the campaign director of the group and identifying himself as "Captain Gatso", described the group's activity as "unpaid voluntary work for the community" taking "defensive offensive action" against present and past governments.[49] By September 2023, attacks on cameras had extended to slashing tyres and spraying graffiti onto camera vans.[50]

At the start of August 2023, the Metropolitan Police launched "Operation Eremon" to coordinate investigations into the vandalism. By 30 August, 288 crimes relating to ULEZ cameras had been reported, and two arrests made.[49] On 22 September 2023, a further arrest was made.[51] On 4 October 2023, it was reported that Laurence Fox had been arrested by police on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras.[52][53][54]