London: Get Ready for T-Charge

London drivers have just one week until Mayor Sadiq Khan’s new “toxicity charge” will mean it costs £21.50 a day to drive into the centre of the city in any vehicle that does not meet low-emission standards.

The £10 T-charge will hit most cars that are older than a decade and will be on top of the existing £11.50 congestion charge.

It is the first step towards what Khan hopes will be even tougher and more widespread measures to clamp down on the city’s notorious air pollution, especially its dangerous levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx).

The Mayor, who developed asthma as an adult while living in London, hopes to make fighting air pollution one of the main legacies of his four-year term in office.

The T-charge will operate through the congestion charge’s cameras and payment system and will be targeted at petrol and diesel engines which do not meet the Euro 4 standard, which generally means cars registered before 2005.

Like the congestion charge, the T-charge will be in force from 7am to 6pm on weekdays and it is expected to hit about 10,000 vehicles. Khan’s next step will be to replace the T-charge with an Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) that he claims will catch up to and overtake the measures now in place in other major cities and “will mean the capital has the toughest emission standard of any world city.”

London already has a low-emission zone for commercial vehicles but City Hall is aiming at an April 2019 introduction of a general ULEZ, which will cover private as well as commercial vehicles at all hours, seven days a week. When combined with the congestion charge it will cost £24 for cars that do not meet the Euro 4 petrol and Euro 6 diesel standards, and a whopping £100 a day for coaches, buses, and lorries.

More to Come

“I want to expand the ULEZ from 2020 for heavy vehicles such as buses, coaches and lorries so that all of London will benefit from cleaner air,” Khan said.

“Then from 2021, I want to expand it up to the North and South Circular roads for light vehicles, including cars and vans. These measures will help improve the air that millions of Londoners breathe.”

Health officials estimate that air pollution causes more than 10,000 premature deaths in London each year. Khan came to office vowing to be “the greenest Mayor ever” and has doubled the budget for tackling air pollution to £875m over the next five years.

He has also sought powers from Westminster to ban wood-burning stoves, which are used in 16% of London households and are responsible for a third of the city’s fine particle pollution. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says it will address the issue in its “Clean Air Strategy” to be published next year.

Another major talking point in Khan’s 2016 election campaign was his promise to protect and expand London’s green spaces. He has introduced a £9m greener city fund to go towards planting more trees and creating more green spaces.

Charities, housing associations, private landowners, community groups, schools and local authorities have been invited to submit project ideas for tree planting or creating green spaces.

Khan says he is working towards London having zero carbon emissions by 2050, ambitious goal that will not be easy when the city’s housing shortage makes it difficult to expand green spaces.

 

by Dominic Luca

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