’T-Charge’ plan to hit London’s most polluting cars in 2017 ~ station of gear

London motorists face a toxicity charge on the most polluting cars under plan by new London Mayor Sadiq Kahn

2016-05-13 19:00

London Mayor Sadiq Kahn has wasted no time in setting out plans to kerb pollution measures in central London and his new T-Charge could come into force as soon as 2017.

Under the plan revealed by Mayor Kahn today a toxicity levy will be introduced on cars driving in London in addition to the existing congestion charge. The proposal involves a significant extension to the existing Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) planned for 2020 and could cover a far wider area around the inner boundary of the North Circular and South Circular roads.

The emissions limits have yet to be announced but cars, motorcycles and vans that fail to meet them would be subject to a £12.50 charge for driving in the extended ULEZ.

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London’s air pollution has been a key issue in the 2016 mayoral election and Mayor Kahn’s successful campaign was founded partly on pledges to reduce levels of NOx and particulate emissions from cars and commercial vehicles traveling in the capital. Speaking to the Evening Standard newspaper Mayor Kahn said “ I have been elected with a clear mandate to clean up London’s air - our biggest environmental challenge.”

“In the past, the city has only responded after an emergency... But i want to act before an emergency - which is why we need big, bold and sometimes difficult policies if the capital is to match the scale of the challenge.”

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The Ultra Low Emissions Zone with its T-Charge scheduled for next year is only one of the new Mayor’s planned measures to control pollution on London’s roads. He is also instructing Transport for London to look at the costs and implications of a scrappage scheme for the most polluting diesel vehicles but stresses that any such measure would have to be introduced nationwide by the Government in Westminster.

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In response to the announcements by Sadiq Kahn, the AA’s head of road policy Paul Walters advised the Mayor not to jump to introduce a new charge on London motorists in 2017 rather than allowing people time to plan for the scheduled introduction of the ULEZ in 2020. He explained that the introducing the T-Charge over an extended area of the capital “will be a much bigger issue for many more London road users than if it had just been in a central area”.

Do you think the planned London T-Charge is a good idea? Will it be rolled out across other UK cities in the near future? Let us know in the comments section…

Steve Walker

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