Sadiq Khan‘s controversial expansion of the Ulez scheme has come into effect, forcing thousands of motorists into paying extra charges to bring their vehicles into the capital.
The move, which came into effect at midnight, now means people will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive certain vehicles into the city – something that will bring an extra £2.5million a day into City Hall.
The expansion has been vociferously fought by charities, Tory councils and residents in outer London, with the mayor even resisting pressure from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to delay it.
The implementation has not been smooth sailing either, with Transport for London’s (TfL) number plate checker website – which allows motorists to see if their vehicle will be charged – slowing to a crawl and holding people in an online queue due to the volume of traffic.
Meanwhile, councils bordering London have refused to put up the road signs warning drivers they are about to enter the Ulez. Of the seven local authorities that border the capital, only Slough has reached an agreement with TfL – councils in Kent, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Surrey and Thurrock have not done so yet.
The Ulez hits petrol vehicles introduced earlier than 2005 that are not compliant with Euro 4 emissions regulations.
Meanwhile, diesel cars and vans are only exempt if their engine complies with more recent Euro 6 rules, which were introduced in September 2015.
This will snare popular vans registered before the cut-off date including Ford Transit Custom 310s.
The RAC has criticised councils that refused to put up signage about the Ulez, saying they should ‘just give in’ so motorists can have advance warning.
Simon Williams, spokesperson for the RAC told BBC London: ‘I think the councils who are contesting or battling the mayor of London probably need to just give in and give drivers a little bit of advance warning.
‘I think people do need a good advance warning of the fact they’re entering the Ulez zone so it’s time that councils stopped resisting and actually go ahead and put up the signs so everyone approaching the zone from all directions has adequate warning’
It comes amid ongoing rows between the the councils and the Mayor over a lack of support for people living in the home counties.
People living in London have been offered the chance to exchange vehicles that fall foul of the regulations in a scrappage scheme, but the same choice has not been given to those who reside outside the capital.
Martin Gough, the leader of Kent Council, said: ‘We’re not prepared to facilitate a scheme against the interests of our residents and for which the mitigation others in London have been offered, have not been offered.’
Other authorities, including Surrey County Council and Buckinghamshire Council have also refused to sign agreements to have the signs installed until ‘mitigation’ is in place for their residents impacted by the scheme.
