Ulez expansion - live within new zone, do i need new car then?

[Redditchat]

Just that. I live in the expansion zone, car is diesel, need to drive it daily for school & work but have zero money to buy a new one.

Has something been announced for people like me?

Also i don't qualify for low income, im just above it but still stretched.

Perhaps if we all walked a bit more our population wouldn't have such an issue with excess weight. I walk just under an hour a day for my commute (~25 mins each way with a train in the middle). It's really not the end of the world.

Have you looked right into buying a cheap second hand car or have you just run a quick Google search? I don't live anywhere near London but last year ended up buying a newish car.

All that was available for £1500 - £2k was knackered cars with 3 - 9 months MOT left. You could see from their MOT history (partner is a mechanic) that they weren't going to go through another MOT without major expenses (if it made it as far as the MOT without needing repair, quite a lot had recurring faults). Or in some cases it really wasn't going to get through another MOT at all and would need scrapping.

Under £5k could have bought me something small with a recurring (and potentially serious/expensive) fault of some kind or with over 100k milage (petrol engine).

To get a halfway decent car I needed £8 - 10k

Is it really any different in London?

Ok fair enough! just looked it up on google maps and its 1.3 miles and it says walking 26 minutes, never ever felt that long to fe fair :-) but still not that far😀

I think that at least some people forced into spending a lot on a newer car are going to drive it more, not less. So the marginally reduced pollution could be cancelled out by increased congestion.

I'm dithering between buying an electric, going all taxi or just paying the charge once or twice a week (I commute by train). If I end up buying an electric for the sake of my 2,000 miles or so a year I'm going to drive more...

I also think the Mayor has underestimated the worry caused to outer boroughs by the recurrent train strikes.

I recently moved out of zone 5 London to just outside the edge of where the ULEZ will extend to. I use the train and tube to get to work and 90% of the time we walk to the supermarket a mile away or get a delivery.
However my husband needs to drive to work. He starts work in construction at 7am and drives for 30 minutes into what will be the ULEZ zone. One of his colleagues didn't drive . He had to leave home at 4am to get in for 7am and at the end of the shift had to wait on site for an hour before the next bus arrived to start his journey home on public transport. This is not going to be feasible for many people, especially as often they are carrying heavy tools /equipment.
I agree with PPs who say it's about allowing rich people to drive into London and making money. When the smoking ban came into force smoking was banned in all public indoor spaces as the research showed how harmful it was. There was no , you can smoke indoors if you pay a fee!

Running an eight minute mile is classed as high performance! No way can someone do an eight minute mile walking.

The 8-minute mile is a high-performance standard. Sustaining that pace for a marathon would complete the 26.2-mile feat in just under three and a half hours, which puts you in the top 25% to 30% of runners. For non-competitive context, the majority of military and law enforcement organizations require fitness tests which include a one and a half or two-mile run. An 8-minute mile pace would score you squarely in the middle of the pack.

Did you mean to quote someone else? My post clearly said 15 minutes, if the average walking speed is 4mph.

Not sure where you're getting 8 from.

Yes it's great unless you have to start work at Heathrow at 4.30am. Or finish after midnight.

Or have a disabled mother who can't go shopping on public transport.

I am sure you are right. And a lot of people in London and around have similar commutes. But not everyone does and some people have to be at work before the trains run, or after they stop. Plus, commuting is not the only traveling we do, and sometimes you can't allow two or three hours to get somewhere by public transport and back again. Cars are essential for many of us and, as others have pointed out, trading in a functioning vehicle for a cheap pile of junk just because it is UKEZ compliant is a false economy, and environmentally pointless in many cases.

I wouldn't say drive it more. But you will see an increase in number of people driving into the current ulez zone. I used to, to go to a club as there is no public transport home and its £40 in an uber which is ridiculous. However now I've changed my car due to impending expansion, I will certainly be going back to that club now that I can drive my car in without paying a penalty

That's the kind of thing I meant. I've more or less given up on a particular hobby due to ULEZ. But if I have to buy a compliant vehicle, I can drive in regularly again, plus drive to work when the trains are on strike. Having scrapped my perfectly serviceable small diesel.

But would you still be up for the same walk if your train ride was twice as long and an hour earlier/later?