Transport for London (TfL) is working to improve air quality in London, minimise the impact of climate change and reduce congestion on the roads.
To do so, it is proposing expanding the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) to cover more of Greater London. But it wants to hear your views first.
How will this affect you, particularly if you have a disability or health condition and live in London or visit regularly? Read on to find out how you can make your voice heard.
UPDATE 30th July: This survey is now CLOSED. Please visit the TfL air quality consultation page to find out more about what will be happening next now that TfL has gathered all the feedback.
Take TfL’s survey on changes to the ULEZ to give your views by 29th July. There are also Easy Read, audio and British Sign Language versions of the surveys.
We are consulting on proposals to expand the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) London-wide from 29th August 2023. We want to hear your views on our proposals.
These proposals are part of the commitment by the Mayor of London and TfL to help improve air quality and public health, tackle the climate emergency and reduce traffic congestion across Greater London.
(For video captions, please click ‘subtitles/closed captions’)
Ultra Low Emission Zone and congestion charge
The ULEZ currently covers the area inside the North and South Circular roads. It sets minimum ULEZ emissions standards for “light” vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles and vans.
Drivers of vehicles that don’t meet them must pay a daily charge to drive within the Zone, unless an exemption or discount applies. The exemptions include:
- vehicles exempt from vehicle tax, such as those driven by a disabled person or with a disabled passenger
- wheelchair accessible private hire vehicles
- NHS patient reimbursement scheme.
Heavy vehicles, such as buses, coaches and lorries, are already subject to these standards London-wide.
Most drivers in Greater London already have compliant vehicles with more than four in five vehicles in outer London already meeting ULEZ standards.
To see if your vehicle is affected by our proposals, use our vehicle checker. Drivers of non-compliant vehicles would have to pay £12.50 each day if they drive within the zone the original or newly expanded zone.
Have your say
Online survey – www.tfl.gov.uk/clean-air
Email – cleanairyourview@tfl.gov.uk
Post – FREEPOST TfL Have your Say
Phone – 0343 222 1155
Read on for more details on how to have your say, including easy-read versions, BSL videos, audios and translations.
Proposed ULEZ expansion
The new boundary would cover almost all (96%) of Greater London, up to the existing Low Emission Zone (LEZ) boundary. You can see our Low Emission Zone overview map below or view an interactive map of the proposed new Low Emission Zone.
The boundary of the expanded zone is designed to make sure there are opportunities for vehicles to turn around should they not wish to enter the Zone.
You can read a summary of our proposals in our consultation brochure and in more detail in ‘Our proposals to help improve air quality, tackle the climate emergency, and reduce congestion consultation’ document, which you can find on the left-hand side of our TfL air quality consultation page.
We’re also proposing to make some additional changes to automatic payments and the penalty charge if you don’t pay the Ultra Low Emission Zone charge when eligible.
Part 1 – Expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide from 29th August 2023 and making changes to Auto Pay and Penalty Charge Notice levels
If the proposed changes go ahead as planned, it means:
- It would cost £12.50 per day to drive anywhere within the London-wide ULEZ area for drivers of non-compliant vehicles.
- It would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 364 days a year, excluding Christmas Day.
- We would remove the £10 annual per vehicle registration fee for Auto Pay for the ULEZ, LEZ and Congestion Charge from 30th January 2023. It would then be free to register for Auto Pay.
You would still have to pay the ULEZ charge if your vehicle is not compliant. Auto Pay allows you to make automatic payments of the ULEZ, LEZ or Congestion Charge and ensures drivers will not receive a Penalty Charge Notice. - The penalty for non-payment for ULEZ and Congestion Charge would increase from £160 to £180 from 30th January 2023. If paid within 14 days, the amount would reduce by half.
ULEZ map
Part 2 – Changes to the Mayor’s Transport Strategy (MTS)
The Mayor is also proposing to revise his Transport Strategy (MTS) to set out the triple challenges of toxic air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion that London is facing, notwithstanding achievements in delivering existing MTS policies and proposals.
A new proposal would reinforce the importance of seeking to address these challenges and the role of road user charging including a London-wide ULEZ in doing so.
Take TfL’s survey to give your views by 29th July.
Improving air quality in London – where we’re at and what we need to do
Since its implementation in 2019 and the subsequent expansion to inner London (up to the North and South circular roads) in October 2021, the ULEZ has already helped to improve air quality in central and inner London. Most vehicles in the existing zone (92%) are already ULEZ compliant.
However, we need to do much more to protect the health and wellbeing of Londoners, especially those in outer London boroughs, where poor air quality is attributable to a greater number of deaths than in inner London (albeit levels of air pollution are lower in outer London).
We are proposing to expand the ULEZ London-wide from August 2023 as part of our plans to tackle toxic air pollution, as well as helping to address the climate emergency and traffic congestion.
Most drivers in Greater London are already driving compliant vehicles and would not need to pay the ULEZ charge. 82% of vehicles in Outer London are already compliant. You can check whether your vehicle is compliant using the ULEZ vehicle checker on our website.
Have your say on the Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion
We would like your views on our proposals and your thoughts on how we shape the future of road user charging.
We also welcome your views on minor operational changes we propose making to the Congestion Charge and ULEZ schemes.
You can do this by completing the online survey. You have until 29th July 2022 at 23.59 UK time to have your say on our proposals.
To take part in the online survey, you will need to register your email address on our consultation portal. Your details will be kept secure and only used, with your permission, to update you about the outcome of the consultation and our next steps.
Please note, if you have an existing account registered with TfL for other services, such as paying ULEZ or Congestion Charge or Oyster card management, you will still have to register a Have your Say account to complete the online survey.
If you prefer not to complete the survey, then please submit your response to us in writing to cleanairyourview@tfl.gov.uk or FREEPOST TFL HAVE YOUR SAY (no stamp required).
You can also phone this number 0343 222 1155 to record your response or ask a question.
We also want this consultation to be accessible to everyone, so we have created:
- an Easy Read version of our proposals
- an Easy Read version of our survey
- an audio version of the survey (an audio version of the proposal will be ready soon).
You can also watch a British Sign Language video of the proposal and a British Sign Language video of the survey.
If you need to translate the TfL information into another language, please use the ‘select language’ button in the bottom left-hand corner of the TfL air quality consultation page.
If you know of any local community groups or meetings that you would like to invite a member of the project team to, please email us at cleanairyourview@tfl.gov.uk or call 0343 222 1155 with details of the meeting and we will call you back.
You can also get a copy of our consultation survey – in case you would prefer to complete it offline and post it to our Freepost address (FREEPOST TFL HAVE YOUR SAY). For this, scroll to the bottom of the TfL air quality consultation page.
If you need any assistance, have a look at our Frequently Asked Questions. These will be updated throughout the consultation as questions come in.
You can also read more information on the independent assessments carried out into the potential likely significant positive and negative impacts of the proposal on our Have Your Say website.
By Transport for London
More on Disability Horizons…
- Why it’s so important for TfL to hear disabled people’s views
- Have your say on proposed changes to bus routes into central London
- 10 wheelchair accessible hotels in London
- Check out our range of wheelchair bag lap trays on the Disability Horizons Shop
