What do we think about the new 'Ultra Low Emission Zone' around London?

[Mombot5]

Article here

£12.50 to drive to Tesco's or pop to the shopping centre for your kids new school shoes.. I haven't heard if there's any additional gadget we can just attach to our cars to make them cleaner. I'm also not sure how many people have cars 15yrs & older these days. I'll have to think twice about renewing my car though. What do others think?

I think it’s a good thing tbh, we live inside the ULEZ zone and I’m concerned about the poor air quality and how it’s going to affect DD. I have asthma and pollution really aggravates it. When the pollution’s high they advise people with asthma not to go out, instead of advising people not to drive to Tesco.

I’m sure someone will be along shortly to point out that not everyone can walk/take public transport/cycle, but a lot of people can, and if we all got in our cars just to get the kids’ shoes, the city would grind to a halt. 10m people live here, we have to make compromises if we’re going to get along.

I support it in theory but live just outside the proposed zones and there's a worry that local traffic and emissions will get really bad with people trying to avoid paying it and rerouting via our area. I really hope this won't be the case.
I don't drive or have a car and think people are too reliant on them and there are so many unnecessary journeys made.

I think it's a good thing too. It would be better if it was extended to all of London, rather than just the inner bit.

Just under 10,000 people die in London every year from air pollution, and 40,000 per year in the UK. Living near a busy road increases the chance of dementia, asthma, lung cancer and cognitive impairment. I'd rather walk everywhere if it meant that my DC and I could breathe.

I think that there will be an exception for blue badge holders.

IrishMamaMia, I remember reading that increased pollution on the outside of zones was expected in non-UK cities where similar schemes were introduced, but it didn't materialise. I can't remember where I read it though but hopefully it wasn't completely made up...

I live outside it but it will affect me as my cars old and I go into it regularly. I have compared my cars emissions from its mot with new similar cars and it’s better then most. So although I’m an environmentalist I can’t reconsile the idea that selling or scrapping my well maintained, low mileage lovely car and getting an ill afforded loan to buy a newer potentially higher emmiting car is a good idea.

I think it’s a good idea. London has some of the worst quality air in Europe; you only have to look at children being dropped off by car to school in Zone 1/2 to realise that they will need both carrot and stick incentives to wean us off driving polluting vehicles.

I’m in favour because this is literally a matter of life and death (fortunately my very rarely used car is under the limits). The problem is that even if every car in London switched to electric the brake dust would still be hazardous to health. ULEZ is a good start but it’s only a start, and frankly 2021 for the wider zone is too far away for my comfort.

I think you’d be bonkers to drive into the proposed 2019 zone to pop to Tesco or buy shoes!

Possibly less so in the 2021 boundaries, but I still support it, I live within those boundaries and the air quality is terrible. And I manage perfectly well to buy food and children’s shoes without driving. We don’t even own a car.

Another reason not to live in London it seems. People pay a lot of money for car tax already, plus petrol has loads of taxes - rich folk won't care about the new charge so yet again it's bashing hard working families

Thanks @pileoflaundry :)

Hard working families (by which I presume you mean middle income employed families?) have children with asthma too. And I agree with Mrs Frumble - the number of people driving 15 year old cars to do the weekly shopping in the new ULEZ must be vanishingly small (not counting people with disabilities who can get exemptions until 2025).

I agree with it. Making driving less socially acceptable has made friends stop driving their kids to school (pure anecdata ofc). I can’t see another way forward, we just have to use public transport more.

fleurie We’re just on the edge of the congestion charge zone, so relatively central and good public transport links. There’s a primary school on our street, the catchment is tiny, and there are still parents who drive their kids to school. They then sit there with their engines idling right outside the school

Another reason not to live in London it seems.

Just the opposite for us. One of the reasons that we choose to live in London is that it’s one of the few cities in the UK where it’s possible to live completely car free. The idea that we might no longer be quite so choked by exhaust fumes while walking, cycling or waiting for a bus makes it even more appealing.

Until the environmental issues caused by industrial premises are taken seriously, this is just another attack on motorists as a scapegoat. I've worked in a place where the neighbouring business was an absolute health hazard with the way it polluted the air, and the environment agency were so disinterested and ineffective you'd have thought they were taking bungs.

StartingGrid can you elaborate on what you mean by “industrial premises”? And how many there might be in central London?

So labour encouraged people to buy diesel cars then forces them to scrap them without giving any compensation. Sadiq Khan may yet face his Macron moment once people realise they can no longer drive up the road to work/school or shops without paying a hefty charge

I think the distance people have to commute now is a huge issue.
Diesels do have their place for high mileage and high torque needs. But encouraging town commuters and short journey drivers into them was a huge mistake. They need petrol or ideally electric.
Vehicles with dpfs have been mis sold by dealers to short commute drivers causing more efficiency issues.
We aren’t ready for electric, we don’t have the power sources or charging points. Given that there’s a lot of flats within the proposed zone how are these going to charge?

The whole things a big bloody mess.

Can't wait for the ULEZ to be introduced. The UK has some of the highest asthma death rates in Europe, children in schools in my area of North London area are developing asthma regularly. Defra is woefully inadequate. Many countries around the world are now banning polluting cars from city centres.
I do think London public transport could made free for those who have the higher emission cars though. But we really can't wait any longer for action on air pollution, our children are growing up with stunted lungs! Woodstoves need to be tackled next.

great in principal but doesn't go far enough imo.
why do you not take the bus/tube/walk?

I fully support the ULEZs and think more action is needed. London's air quality and its impact on health is utterly appalling.

The thing is, having a car is convenient but in a city like London, unless you have a mitigating circumstance like a disability in your family, there's almost always a way around it.

I lived there for 8 years and the 5 times I needed a car, I used Zipcar or Enterprise. I know families with kids who get by perfectly well without cars in London even in outer boroughs.

I support it. I live in London and even though I'm 15 mins walk from the nearest train station and we don't have a tube in this area, we still don't have a car.

People need to accept that the convenience of having a car is not sustainable.

I'm driving I to London for the first time in years today, normally take the train but have been offered a free car park space due to my sons bluebadge. Am I right in thinking on a Saturday its still free to drive into London?

The area i lived yesterday was the most polluted area in the whole of the uk and you could barely breath when walking through our town centre.

People in london really can't complain, you get the most money invested in public transport by the government per person but still seem to drive. While up north we still have old rickety pacer trains and no late night buses so i can see why loads of people drive.

Fully support the zone and think it should apply at weekends too.
Do residents get discounts as well? That needs to go to if so

Yes but thankfully my weary old car is soon to be replaced.