Along with local Conservative Councillors and Peter Fortune, Bob is campaigning against the Mayor of London's plan to extend the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to Outer-London, and to places such as Beckenham & West Wickham. The extension will see drivers of non-compliant vehicles face a daily fee of £12.50 for using their vehicles.
Bob supports the aim of reducing congestion and cleaning up air quality across London, but does not believe spending £200 million on an expanded camera network to enforcing a new tax which will hit people on low/ fixed incomes, small businesses and charities the hardest is the way to do this.
Bob would prefer to see the money spent on practical measures such as;
- Less polluting Bus Routes: Speeding up delivery of a bus fleet zero-emission faster and expanding zero emission bus zones and routes, with priority given to areas of poor air quality and deprivation.
- Greener Infrastructure: Installation of more rapid electric vehicle charging points and create additional charging hubs. By working with TfL and London boroughs. The Mayor can assess what blocks are preventing the further expansion of car clubs and to work together to remove them.
- Scrappage Scheme: helping people swap to greener vehicles without threatening them by providing a bigger and better scrappage scheme prior, including the option of travel credits that could be spent on either car clubs or public transport.
You can sign Bob's petition below.
The consultation, run by the Mayor and TfL over the summer, found that 60% of overall responses were against the extension, the figure rises to 68% opposed when “organised responses” are excluded. Of this:
- 80% of local businesses in Outer-London are opposed to the extension
- 80% of employees in Outer-London are opposed
- 75% of visitors to London are opposed
- 90% of Black Cab Drivers are opposed
Sadiq Khan: Respect the ULEZ Consultation Result
We the undersign call on the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan to honour the outcome of the consultation into extending the so-called Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). The Mayor is extending the ULEZ zone out to Bromley from August 2023, which will mean local residents may be charged £12.50 every time they drive their car, despite the current pressures on the cost of living.
Individual resident responses shows that 80% of the respondents objected to the plans. Yet the Mayor is ignoring this extremely high rate of objection – making a mockery of the consultation.
The proposed extension will hurt the most vulnerable and small businesses who are less likely to be able to buy the more expensive compliant cars. Additionally, the expansion is expected to cost £200 million, money which could instead be used on targeted and practical measures to improve air quality or tackling crime. Instead, the Mayor is spending the money on an expanded camera network which is unlikely to have an impact on air quality.
We call on the Mayor of London to abandon these plans and use the money to invest in greener infrastructure and for the phasing out of the most polluting buses.
