Londoner? ULEZ expansion - wrong time?

[GrubzUp]

I like Sadiq Khan, in general I applaud green initiatives.

However it's been announced today that the original inner London low emission zone is to be expanded into outer London - meaning that if you have an older, more polluting vehicle it will cost you £12.50 every time you drive it anywhere in London (inside the M25 I think).

I live in outer London. There are a LOT of older, non ULEZ compliant vehicles on the road round here. At the moment, people don't need to be compliant for local trips, because unless they're heading inside the North / South Circular Rd, they are fine in their older cars.

I look out in the street and see my neighbours' cars: the people who tend to drive older vehicles are the young, the old, the disabled and the poor.

AIBU to say that hitting them with a big new tax for driving anywhere in the middle of a cost of living crisis is the WRONG time? If they can't afford a newer model they certainly can't afford to pay £12 every time they take it off the drive. I feel bad for these people. How are they going to afford it?

Note that public transport here is not what it is in inner London, you can't just "jump on the tube".

I also wonder how many cars this will actually affect - when I looked it said that most petrol cars newer than 2005 would be fine. How many cars are actually still on the road that are that old? I rarely see any.

2016 for diesel cars though.

They oppose it because the councillors all drive polluting SUVs themselves

No. They oppose it because it will destroy local businesses and the high street if people are left with no transport options. Besides every reason that has been mentioned upthread

They oppose it because the councillors all drive polluting SUVs themselves seen what Mr Khan’t drives to walk his dog?

twitter.com/the_lcdc/status/1429324873558478854?s=46&t=BHW_j5zUlYbrTQa_MRgJgg

He's had racist death threats against him hence the car but he might just be a massive hypocritical wanker, that's what you really want to hear isn't it?

Just depends, I see alot of cargo bikes locked up outside. I also see lots of cars that don't seem to get used much, taking up road space

Well he manages to walk in the park! All politicians get threats, still see Diane Abbott getting the tube. Plenty of targeted people still walk.

Backlog, so they target bikes not cars in your area? Quite specific vandals! Eventually they will become more common and less of a target, but there is crime every where

Only fools, good point

@GrubzUp

So now it affects you you don't like it .🤣

I've never met a Londoner yet who actually likes Sadiq Kahn.. they can't stand the man and people in some business areas have said he has wasted million's in deliberately challenging things that he has zero chance of winning prurley because they are " Tory" policies.

Every cab driver has ranted and ranted and ranted.

I'm all for pure air, I'm not against that but punishing families who can't access their capital city now makes me turn purple.

We used to be able to pop into London on an occasional Sunday by driving in. Very cheap day out to the musuems.
How it costs around 50.

Not even quiet Sundays are free.

Do It but first.... make sure the alternative are suitable;

Taxis driver said to me he's strangling the city for poorer families.

He can use cars and get around because he's in it.
He doesn't care about people trying to access their city nor cracking down on the super wealthy Arabs charging around in super cars who couldn't care less about a fine.

I think it may have been taxi drivers who made threats against him, not sure they are an accurate barometer yard. He did get voted in after all.

Who would drive into central London when you could get one if the many trains that serve the city

*accurate barometer

@Devoutspoken have you actually been outside the M25? Despite only living 40 miles outside London our nearest railway station is a 30 minutest drive away, longer by bus. I’ve just worked out how long it would take us by public transport to get to a place we regularly visit in the new ULEZ area for sports matches. 1hr 45 minutes - each way! Takes us just over 30 minutes by car. We simply don’t have the time to spend 3 and 1/2 hours travelling by public transport.

So it sounds like you need a car for those sports events

@Devoutspoken exactly….but you just asked who would drive into London….

Oh yes @BacklogBritain that’s a good point.

@Devoutspoken many of us that live outside the M25 have to use hospitals in London. My FIL had chemo in a London hospital earlier this year and then a major operation. He wasn’t really up to the train and it was £100 in a taxi so my DH drove him.

Lizzy I was responding to someone who said they liked to drive into Central London of a weekend, crossing the m25 for a sports event is not central london

@Devoutspoken see my post above…UCLH is pretty central!

Alot of people use london hospitals without a car, but if you need a car for specific needs, the less traffic on the roads the better

Lizzy, isn't uclh designed for people to get to without cars?