When does ULEZ expand? Map showing if you pay £12.50-a-day charge

When does ULEZ expand and where is it stretching to? Map shows whether you are hit by new £12.50-a-day charge

Sadiq Khan is plowing on with his despised ULEZ expansion, despite Labour push back – even ignoring concerns raised by Angela Rayner.

The Mayor of London has previously been accused of ‘crushing businesses’ with his plans to roll out the £12.50 a day ULEZ charge.

Labour statistics also show the London Mayor’s plans also foiled their attempts to grab Uxbridge and South Ruislip from the Tories.

Khan argued that neither Uxbridge and South Ruislip have ‘never been Labour in my lifetime’. 

But what is the ULEZ zone? Where is it expanding to? And will you be smacked with the new £12.50 a day charge? Read more to find out.

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) (pictured) was created by Transport for London and intends to be implemented on August 29 and will extend all the way to zone 6

What is the ULEZ?

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was created by Transport for London and intends to be implemented on August 29.

ULEZ are areas in London were motorists may be hit with an extra fee for driving vehicles with high pollution levels. 

They operate 24 hours a day, every day of the year, bar Christmas. 

It is similar to the congestion charge zone but is on a much larger in scale. 

If your vehicle meets the ULEZ standards then you will be permitted to travel within ULEZ boundaries free of charge. 

The only time you will not be charged in ULEZ zone for driving a non-compliant ULEZ vehicle is when it is parked. 

According to the Transport for London website, the ULEZ standards currently are: 

• Euro 3 for motorcycles, mopeds, motorised tricycles and quadricycles
• Euro 4 (NOx) for petrol cars, vans, minibuses and other specialist vehicles 
• Euro 6 (NOx and PM) for diesel cars, vans and minibuses and other specialist vehicles 

The majority of diesel vehicles and petrol vehicles that are under 6 and 16 years old respectively, already meet the emissions standards.

Minibuses and coaches (all over 5 tonnes GVW) do not need to hand over the $12.50 ULEZ charge as well as lorries, vans and specialist heavy vehicles (all over 3.5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW)).

If you want to make sure your vehicle meets the ULEZ standards you can enter your number plate here to find out.

When does the ULEZ expansion happen and what areas does it affect?

At the moment, the ULEZ boundary surrounds all of central London and other neighboring areas such as Putney, Finchley, Dulwich and Chiswick – with Khan pushing to grow it further. 

From August 29, Khan intends to expand all 33 boroughs of Greater London, stretching as far out as Zone 6, to areas such as Orpington, Haynes, Hornchurch and Romford.

But not everyone in London is hopping on the ULEZ train with the London Mayor.

The first proposal for ULEZ was announced in March 2022, after five months of discussions with the public and 60% respondents being against the plans.

Now the councils of Bromley, Hillingdon, Bexley, Surrey and Harrow have opposed the plans on four grounds.

Two of those grounds which include, ‘failure to follow statutory procedures’ and ‘failure to consider the potential for inclusion of non-Londoners in the scrappage scheme’ have been upheld by London’s High Court, who will determine if the plans will go ahead.

It is presumed that the ULEZ expansion will still happen.

Khan wants to expand the ULEZ zone so Londoners have clearer air

Why is ULEZ expanding?

The introduction of the ULEZ zone aims to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions being put into the air, as is not an uncommon occurrence for London’s atmosphere to pass safe levels of emissions.

As emissions dropped by 20% when the ULEZ zone was introduced in 2019, when it only covered congestion charge areas in the city.

When the scheme was announced in 2017,  only 39% of motors in the city were complaint. 

It is now believed 85% of vehicles meet the standard, even before ULEZ comes into play. 

There were fears that the ULEZ expansion would disproportionately affect Londoners on low incomes or with disabilities.

As a result, Khan has introduced a £110million scrappage scheme to support small business and charities in the capital as well as Londoners who have disabilities or are on take home is smaller, to scrap their non ULEZ compliant vehicles.

Those eligible for this scheme will be Londoners on specific disability or low income benefits who have cars and wheelchair accessible vehicles that don’t meet the ULEZ emissions standard. 

They will also receive two annual TfL Bus and Tram passes worth £932 each, alongside a partial grant of £1,200. if they decide to scrap their non compliant vehicle.

Alternatively, they can opt to receive a full grant in exchange for scrapping their car. 

Charites or business with London registered addresses will also be eligible for the scrappage scheme. 

Khan plans to also introduce the Superloop, adding an extra one million in bus network route in Greater London to combat road emissions and and traffic.

The first areas to see any changes will be the following:

• Brent Cross
• Harold Hill & Upminster
• Harrow & Wealdstone
• Silvertown
• Southall
• Sutton
• Wanstead
• Wood Green 

If you avoid the ULEZ £12.50 charge you may face up to a £180 fine

Who has to pay the ULEZ charge?

If you drive a vehicle that does not meet emission standards in a ULEZ zone, you have to pay a £12.50 daily charge to drive your car in or crossing into these zones.

And there is no avoiding the daily ULEZ charge if you live in London.

Non-payment of ULEZ charges at the minute stand at £180 and this fee is reduced if you pay within a fortnight. 

Grace periods until October 26 2025 will be given to London vehicles with registered disabled owners or passengers, alongside minibuses for community transport  

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