Nine in 10 cars meet ULEZ standards in expanded zone

Vehicle compliance in the expanded outer London area of the ultra-low emission zone is now 95.2%, new figures published by Transport for London (TfL) show.   

That is a 10 percentage point increase on the 85.1% reported in May 2022, when the consultation on proposals to expand the ULEZ London-wide launched, and from 90.9% in June 2023. 

In terms of cars, over nine in 10 cars now meet the ULEZ standards. Car compliance in the expanded outer London area is 96.4%, up from 92.4% in June 2023 and 90% in November 2022, when the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced the decision to expand the ULEZ London-wide.

Van compliance in the outer London area was lower, however, with 86.2% of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) meeting the emissions standard, up from 79.5% in June 2023 and 77.8% in November 2022.

High levels of compliance mean only a small proportion of vehicles paid the charge, reports TfL. 

On an average day, of all ULEZ vehicles seen driving in London, only 2.9% pay the charge, 1.7% are non-chargeable (including those registered for a discount or exemption), and 0.2% are issued with a warning notice or, from September 26, a penalty charge notice. The rest meet the ULEZ standards.

TfL issued almost 4,000 PCNs a day, on average, for three months in a row prior to the ULEZ expansion, the newly published figures suggest.

The latest official figures show 3,944 fines were, on average, triggered daily for breaching emissions rules in June.

For May, the average daily number of fines issued was 3,919 while it was 3,971 in April. 

London’s expanded ULEZ went live from August 29, with vehicles that do not meet the standards incurring a £12.50 daily charge. 

To comply with the ULEZ, petrol cars and vans must be Euro 4 and diesel cars and vans must be Euro 6. Motorcycles and mopeds must be Euro 3 to comply.

Khan said: “I’ve always said that the decision to expand the ULEZ was very difficult, but a month on from the expansion we can already see that it is working. 

“London is now home to the world’s largest clean air zone and this new data shows 95% of vehicles seen driving in London on an average day now comply with our air quality standards – a 10 percentage point increase since I began to consult on the ULEZ expansion in May 2022. This will make a huge difference to the lives and health of Londoners.

“More than 19 in 20 vehicles on London’s roads are now compliant and do not need to pay the daily ULEZ charge.

“For the remaining Londoners still driving non-compliant vehicles, millions of pounds of scrappage scheme support is still available. Take-up has been incredible, with 37,256 grants approved for Londoners to date for the outer London expansion alone, and I encourage anyone affected by the ULEZ to apply today for support.” 

To support the transition to cleaner vehicles, the Mayor has provided £160 million in funding for a scrappage and retrofit scheme.

Christina Calderato, TfL’s director of strategy and policy, said: “The ULEZ is highly effective in taking the oldest, most polluting vehicles off the roads with nearly 80,000 fewer driving in London since this June alone, and a 56 percentage point increase in vehicles meeting the standards since 2017.

“To support the transition to greener journeys in the city, TfL has committed over £121m from the Mayor’s £160m scrappage funds to help Londoners and London-based small businesses and charities scrap their non-compliant vehicles.

“Millions are still available in the fund and we urge those living in the capital who own a non-compliant vehicle to apply for the support available.”