Ultra-low emission zone will be expanded London-wide  

London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) will be expanded across the whole of the capital from August 29, 2023.

It means that drivers of older, polluting cars and vans will have to pay £12.50 a day to use their vehicle across Greater London.

Confirming the expansion, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said it would tackle the triple threats of air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion.

The new expandd ULEZ will operate across all London boroughs up to the existing Low Emission Zone (LEZ) boundary.  

A £110m scrappage scheme has been announced alongside to support Londoners on lower incomes, disabled Londoners, charities and small businesses and sole traders.

Successful scrappage applicants will receive a grant to scrap or - for the first time - retrofit their vehicle for certain vans and minibuses.

Successful car owners can opt to receive a smaller grant accompanied by up to two free annual bus and tram passes, which would give them a higher financial package. 

Khan said: “The ULEZ so far has been transformational, reducing harmful pollution levels by almost a half in central London. But there is still far too much toxic air pollution permanently damaging the health of young Londoners and leading to thousands of early deaths every year, with the greatest number of deaths in the outer London boroughs.

“Expanding the ULEZ London-wide will mean five million more people will be able to breathe cleaner air and live healthier lives.”

The ULEZ will continue to operate 24 hours a day, every day of the year (except Christmas Day).

Vehicles must meet strict emission standards to drive in the ULEZ area:  Euro 4 for petrol cars and vans; Euro 6 for diesel cars and vans; and Euro 3 for motorcycles and mopeds.    

Vehicles that do not meet the standards must pay the £12.50 daily charge.

Transport for London (TfL) is removing the annual £10 per vehicle Auto Pay registration fee to make it easier for people with non-compliant vehicles to pay the charge. 

But it will also increase the PCN level for the ULEZ to £180 (reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days) to maintain the deterrent effect of the scheme and achieve the scheme’s air quality and health objectives.  

Michelle Gardner, deputy policy director at Logistics UK, said: “The quality of the air we breathe affects us all, and logistics operators have already made huge strides in reducing the industry’s emissions while delivering everything which Londoners need every day.

"The announcement of the date of the ULEZ expansion will enable businesses to speed up the planning of their vehicle upgrade or replacement programmes to ensure compliance. 

“However, with many vehicle manufacturers unable to fulfil new orders due to the worldwide shortage of parts and microchips, and very limited opportunities available for retrofitting existing vehicles, it is vital that the Mayor and his team provide some flexibility in the implementation of the new rules and access to the proposed £110m scrappage scheme for commercial vehicle operators.” 

Expanding ULEZ London-wide will save 27,000 tonnes of CO2 in outer London, nearly double that which the central London ULEZ achieved in its first year of operation. 

Among other improvements, TfL suggests that the expansion is forecast to make further progress to reduce air pollution, by reducing nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from cars and vans in outer London by 10% and 7%, respectively, and reducing PM2.5 car exhaust emissions in outer London by nearly 16%, benefitting five million outer London residents. 

Compliance within the current ULEZ area is now at 94%, much higher than the 39% when ULEZ was first announced in 2017, and also higher than 85% the month before previous expansion, and compliance in outer London is already around 85%.

Khan said: “Expanding the ULEZ London-wide has not been an easy decision. The easy thing for me would have been to kick the can down the road. But in the end, public health comes before political expediency.

“Expanding ULEZ is the right choice for our city and something that I know will help us to continue building a better, greener, fairer and healthier London for everyone.”   

The announcement follows a public consultation which ran between May and July 2022, in which 59% of respondents agreed that more needed to be done to tackle toxic air.

A representative YouGov poll commissioned by City Hall also revealed nearly twice as many Londoners believe the Mayor’s proposed expansion of the ULEZ should go ahead than oppose it.