Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) came into force on 8 April 2019 in the existing congestion charge zone in central London. Unlike the congestion zone, it operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The idea behind London’s ULEZ is a determination to clean up the city’s filthy air – widely regarded as the dirtiest of any major city in Europe. At least 360 primary schools in the capital are in areas exceeding safe legal pollution levels, half of which comes from cars, lorries and buses.

ULEZ will be introduced in Fulham on 25 October 2021 when it is planned to expand the present ULEZ area to an area bounded by the North Circular Road (A406) and South Circular Road (A205) on 25 October 2021. This is therefore a critical date for Fulham car owners.

Vehicles, including motorbikes, that don’t meet the tighter exhaust emissions standards will have to pay £12.50 every day that they are used within the ULEZ. Failure to pay will result in a fine of £160.

Broadly speaking, pre-2015 diesels and pre-2006 petrol cars will fall foul of the new standards. To find out if your car or bike is affected, go to the Check your Vehicle page on the TfL website: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle-35896. Keepers of vehicles registered with a ‘disabled’ or ‘disabled passenger vehicles’ tax class will not have to pay until 26 October 2025.

ULEZ is being introduced to reduce pollution levels in London which in some areas are extremely high. It is likely, however, to adversely affect some of the least well off who may drive older cars or own a diesel car that they are now unable to sell.

Precisely how many drivers will be hit with the charge is unknown, as many are likely to sell older vehicles before 2021. TfL estimate that when the zone expands to the north and south circular in 2021, 80% of car kilometres driven within the zone on an average day would be by cars that already meet the ULEZ standard.

TfL expects that harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in central London will reduce by 45% and 40% in the surrounding areas. It says: ‘The expansion of the ULEZ to the north and south circulars will deliver a further 20% reduction across London’.