London’s mayor wants to charge drivers across London a daily fee of up to £2 for “all but the cleanest vehicles” to tackle the climate emergency, writes Joshua Askew…
The move is part of a wider effort by Sadiq Khan to reduce the number of short car journeys and promote greener forms of transport, such as bikes and electric vehicles.
A report commissioned by City Hall found that in order to meet net-zero targets a 27 per cent reduction in London’s car traffic was required by 2030.
Many groups have slammed the plans, with the RAC calling it “expensive” and “poorly timed”.
Other approaches under consideration are extending the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) beyond the north and south circular roads and introducing a Greater London boundary charge, which would apply a small fee to non-London registered vehicles entering the city.
Eventually, Khan wants to bring in a pay-per-mile system, with consideration for those on low incomes, the disabled, charities and small businesses.
The mayor’s office said this could lead to all existing road user charges, like ULEZ and the congestion charge, being abolished and replaced with a “simple and fair” scheme, although the technology to implement it is still years from being ready.
“It’s clear the cost of inaction – to our economy, to livelihoods, to the environment and to the health of Londoners – would be far greater than the cost of transitioning to net-zero and reducing toxic air pollution,” said Khan.
“We simply don’t have time to waste.”
City Hall analysis has shown that if extreme temperatures and flooding get worse, a quarter of London’s rail stations, one in five schools, nearly half of London’s hospitals and hundreds of thousands of homes will be at risk of flooding.
Head of roads policy at RAC, Nicholas Lyes said: “At a time when the basic cost of living for Londoners is soaring, these proposals seem to be poorly timed, so we strongly urge the mayor to think again instead of defaulting to extracting more money from the pockets of London’s drivers.”
Transport for London (TfL) and the mayor will now begin a period of consultation with Londoners, local government and businesses about the way forward.