Van drivers will be hit by Sadiq Khan’s Ulez expansion
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Van drivers will be hit by Sadiq Khan’s Ulez extension, with up to 30,000 running non-compliant vehicles paying £3,100 a year in fees
Traders face annual bills of more than £3,000 under Sadiq Khan’s planned ultra-low emission zone expansion – due to a lack of compliant vans for sale.
The area will be expanded from August 29 to cover the entire capital.
It means more vehicles that fail to meet minimum emissions standards will have to pay £12.50 to Transport for London (TfL).
A report commissioned by TfL estimates that 30,000 non-compliant vans use the Ulez extension area every day.
Sadiq Khan was accused of casting more than 5,000 votes against his controversial expansion into London’s ultra-low emission zone
Tory MP Gareth Bacon has opposed Ulez’s extension, which will cover his Orpington constituency
But figures from Auto Trader – which says it’s used by around 80 per cent of car dealers in the UK – show there are just 5,181 vans for sale across London and South East England on their online marketplace.
The total for Great Britain is 23,803.
Diesel vehicles, which make up the majority of vans, must meet the Euro 6 standard – which sets a legal requirement for vehicles with average CO2 emissions of less than 98g/km – to avoid the charge.
The standard generally covers vehicles registered from 2015 onwards.
A trader driving into the zone in an older van every working day will collect more than £3,100 a year in costs.
Drivers who fail to pay will be fined £160 each day, halved if paid within two weeks.
The average price of a diesel van that meets the emissions standard is £23,972 on Auto Trader.
That’s £6,500 more than for a non-compliant van.
An Auto Trader spokesperson said: ‘This will be a real concern for thousands of van drivers already struggling with high inflation.
“The number of Ulez-compliant vans for sale in London and the South East is only a fraction of the estimated 30,000 vans affected, leaving the majority facing the prospect of paying thousands of pounds extra to get to work.”
Sadiq Khan is pushing ahead with plans to expand the Ulez, despite strong opposition from Tory MPs. The August 29 border goes around all 33 London boroughs
The Ulez is currently restricted to within the capital’s northern and southern ring roads.
A spokesperson for Mr Khan said: ‘The mayor has made it clear that the decision to expand the ultra-low emission zone across London was one of the hardest he’s had to make, but with around 4,000 Londoners still dying due to poisonous air, it was a necessary one.
“Eighty-five per cent of vehicles in the London suburbs are already Ulez compliant.
For those who aren’t, the mayor has announced the largest scrapping scheme to date – £110m – to help micro-enterprises and Londoners most in need amid the cost of living crisis, including Londoners with a low income and disabled.’
Rishi Sunak last week urged the mayor to “properly reconsider” the expansion of the zone after thousands of people voiced their opposition through consultation responses.
When questioned by the Prime Minister, Mr Sunak said: ‘It is disappointing that the Mayor, supported by the Leader of the Opposition (Sir Keir Starmer), chooses not to listen to the public and expand the zone against the overwhelming views of residents and business. .
“I urge the mayor to properly reconsider and address these serious concerns.”