Sadiq Khan has hailed the expansion of London's ULEZ after a report into the effect of the scheme on air quality on the outskirts of the city stated that emissions have been brought down by 'six per cent more than expected'. Transport for London (TfL) found that PM2.5 gases given off by vehicles had gone down by 22 per cent - compared to if the Mayor of London had not expanded the £12.50 charge zone.
The fee incurred by older, more polluting vehicles was enlarged by Mr Khan on August 29. Now, nearly a year later, a new report has found that within the Outer London ULEZ area, NOx emissions from cars and vans are estimated to be 13 per cent and seven per cent lower than a scenario without the policy.
This is equivalent to removing 200,000 cars from the road for one year. A City Hall spokesperson said: "Across all measures, these impacts are aligned with, and in many cases greater than, what TfL estimated in the consultation for the outer London expansion. "
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Mr Khan, said: “The decision to expand the ULEZ London-wide was a difficult one, but necessary to save lives, protect children’s lungs and help reduce the risk of Londoners developing asthma, dementia and a host of other health issues. Today’s report shows that the ULEZ is working even better than expected. The expansion to outer London is already having a significant effect – driving down levels of pollution, taking old polluting cars off our roads and bringing cleaner air to millions more Londoners.
“London’s air quality is improving at a faster rate than the rest of England, and 96 per cent of vehicles are now compliant, with tens of thousands of Londoners benefitting from our scrappage scheme. It's thanks to our bold policies, including ULEZ, that we are now set to get London’s air to within legal limits by 2025, 184 years earlier than previously projected. But there’s still more to do and I promise to continue taking bold action – including more to clean up out air and rivers – as we build a fairer, greener London for everyone.”
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ULEZ cuts number of non-compliant vehicles
The first report into the ULEZ expansion, published in October, suggested that the number of non-compliant vehicles seen driving in London on an average day has decreased by 77,000 compared to June 2023 - a reduction of 45 per cent. Data also suggested, however, that only 86.2 per cent of vans were compliant as some chose to keep their more polluting vehicles.
Conservative Party estimates suggested that the expansion had raised more than £52 million for TfL. Recent local elections meant this latest report could not be published, Mr Khan said in March. There was also a restrictive pre-election period for the General Election.
When asked at the time if he was optimistic about the upcoming report, the mayor said that previous analysis of the scheme in Central and Inner London have proven that 'it works'. "We know it works", Mr Khan said, "because of the reduction in nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter."
Campaigners heap on praise
Campaigners have praised the mayor's 'leadership' on the issue. Hirra Khan Adeogun, co-director of climate charity Possible, said: "Today’s ULEZ report shows that we really can clean up our air with simple, sensible public health policy that protects millions of Londoners from the harm of toxic air that literally shrinks childrens’ lungs and shortens the lives of residents.
“The ULEZ expansion has been so successful in cutting down air pollution in outer London that the reduction in Nitrogen Oxide is as if we had removed an incredible 200,000 cars from the roads for a year. Sadiq Khan has shown real leadership here because without bold policies like the ULEZ, it would have taken nearly two centuries for London to meet legal air pollution limits; we’re now on track to hit this milestone by 2025.
“Most Londoners support ULEZ and it is clear that the policy has done what it set out to do. It’s a win-win for clean air and for the climate. Cities around the world and across the UK should be looking at the example set in our capital. But we can’t stop here - there’s still so much more to do.”
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