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Sadiq Khan to introduce £10 toxicity charge for London’s most polluting vehicles

Online compliance checker informs people whether they will be obliged to pay

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced the introduction of a £10 ‘T-Charge’ targeting 10,000 of the oldest, most polluting vehicles operating within the capital. The charge will be brought in on October 23 – the start of autumn half-term.

The T-Charge will walk alongside the Congestion Charge and will apply Monday to Friday from 7am to 6pm. The owners of diesel and petrol vehicles manufactured before 2005 that do not meet Euro 4 emissions standards for nitrogen oxide (NO2) and particulates will have to pay.

Sadiq Khan, said: “It’s staggering that we live in a city where the air is so toxic that many of our children are growing up with lung problems. If we don’t make drastic changes now we won’t be protecting the health of our families in the future.”

He added that he considered the T-Charge a vital step in tackling the dirtiest diesels and said that he planned to introduce the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone as early as 2019.

“I will continue to do everything in my power to help protect the health of Londoners and clean our filthy air. But now is the time for Government to show real leadership and join me by introducing a diesel scrappage fund and bring in the new Clean Air Act we desperately need.”

The system will use a camera-based mechanism for enforcement and will monitor both diesel and petrol vehicles.

Leon Daniels, Transport for London’s (TfL) Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: “London’s air quality crisis is one of the biggest challenges we face and we are working alongside the Mayor to address it. The T-Charge is a crucial part of this work and will discourage drivers of the oldest, most polluting vehicles from driving in central London. To help drivers we have created an online compliance checker, which can be found on the TfL website, that enables people to easily establish whether they will be affected by the charge.”

The measure is however only expected to lead to a small reduction in toxic fumes.

Conservative London Assembly environment spokesman, Shaun Bailey, told the BBC that TfL’s consultation showed the T-Charge would affect just 7 per cent of vehicles entering the Congestion Charge zone.

"Under assessment by his own people, the mayor's flagship air pollution policy is predicted to have only a 'negligible' impact on air quality, reducing poisonous NOx gasses by just 1-3%," Mr Bailey said.

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19 comments

Avatar
crazy-legs | 7 years ago
3 likes

Talk about using a sticking plaster to fix a bullet wound!

It's time to have a real war on motorists (rather than the oft-quoted meaning in the Daily Wail). Start with banning cars - alternate even and odd plates for example so on Day 1 anyone with a 57, 59, 61 etc plate is banned, the next day it's 58, 60, 62 etc that are banned. Exceptions obviously for buses, emergency services etc. 

No more PHV licences. There are already far too many taxis trundling round empty adding to the congestion and pollution. Start an enforced scrappage for the older diesel black cabs, for every 3 off the road you can allow one new electric one.

Restart the cycle superhighway construction. That's been allowed to grind to a near halt because of NIMBYs and never-ending "consultations".

I admit there's a few details to iron out in all of that lot but FFS, London's air pollution has exceeded yearly allowances already and we're only in mid February! It needs dramatic action, not some token gesture of an extra tenner...

Avatar
bornslippy | 7 years ago
2 likes

The Mayor can say that he is at least doing something even if it will have neglible effect on the actual NOx polution levels. He'll be criticised no matter what he does. Politics.

It's a massive failure of regulation as much as anything else. The biggest problem is the decades of testing carried out to meet unrealistic European emission standards and the associated decades of lack of progress  (e.g. https://www.transportenvironment.org/docs/Bulletin/2006/2006-02_bulletin... which said *in 2006* that there had been no real NOx progress in the previous 13 years!). The VW cheating is a relative side-issue (although appalling).

Its equally unrealistic to start throwing out relatively new cars. Just don't use them so much. I can't afford to replace my ten year old Audi diesel estate with anything vaguely equivalent and clean. Then again, I hardly drive anywhere. People regard me as eccentric [partly...!] because I cycle in London (arriving on my Brompton looking rather like the guy out of W1A).  

I lived in London for nearly twenty years and never paid the congestion charge - I never felt the need to drive in the central area.

 

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... replied to bornslippy | 7 years ago
0 likes
bornslippy wrote:

The Mayor can say that he is at least doing something even if it will have neglible effect on the actual NOx polution levels. He'll be criticised no matter what he does. Politics.

It's a massive failure of regulation as much as anything else. The biggest problem is the decades of testing carried out to meet unrealistic European emission standards and the associated decades of lack of progress  (e.g. https://www.transportenvironment.org/docs/Bulletin/2006/2006-02_bulletin... which said *in 2006* that there had been no real NOx progress in the previous 13 years!). The VW cheating is a relative side-issue (although appalling).

Its equally unrealistic to start throwing out relatively new cars. Just don't use them so much. I can't afford to replace my ten year old Audi diesel estate with anything vaguely equivalent and clean. Then again, I hardly drive anywhere. People regard me as eccentric [partly...!] because I cycle in London (arriving on my Brompton looking rather like the guy out of W1A).  

I lived in London for nearly twenty years and never paid the congestion charge - I never felt the need to drive in the central area.

 

Though the US doesn't have the same problem with diesel traffic pollution, I think because they didn't stupidly incentivise diesel as we did in the '90s (they have plenty of other sources of pollution to make up for it, though).

The decision to do that was criminally stupid, in my opinion.

Avatar
Anyone seen my ... (not verified) | 7 years ago
3 likes

Trucks, taxis (with their inefficient engines running all day), and diesels cars: all of them because the emissions data cannot be trusted.  And GBP10 isn't enough. The CC is GBP12 and that's changed very little, apart from to displace traffic to the CC Zone periphery.  Once again this is about raising revenue. I doubt that many of the people dirving this particular category of car drive in Central London anyway, the CC would put them off. 

Avatar
emishi55 | 7 years ago
4 likes

In addition, the mayor should scrap his calls forcompensation for diesel car users, but instead offer (or suggest the government offers) a scrappage scheme like that in Oslo where drivers receive funding towards a cargo bike in return fro givingup their car.

 

Other incentives like concessionary car club membership or similar for car hire are long overdue.

Reducing the scandalous subsidised parking that clutters up the side roads and more making journeys all he more inconvenient for cycling (and bus users).

 

This fear of confrontation with car-users has go be tackled. 

Non-essential journeys in single occupancy vehicles. Peak time rat-running / school run congestion. This is no longer the tread-lightly territory that it has been.

   

Avatar
Johnnystorm | 7 years ago
0 likes

The online compliance checkers are about as user unfriendly as they could be. I thought you'd just pop your reg number in and get a yes/no, wishful thinking!

Avatar
emishi55 | 7 years ago
2 likes

The area selected on the map is tiny.

Much of the worst pollution occurs on those boundary roads - Marylebone, Old Kent Rd and the rest.

If they were included these measures would be a bit more meaningful.

The mayor has also shown little willingness so far to promote cycling with his new commissioner appearing to be prepared to listen those groups that have caused such problems for campaigners over the last year.

Nothing short of a Grid network  will suffice. The map shown would be a start - filtering the e -w nd n -s  routes. This would demonstrate how excessive vehicle use can be tackled to the oute boroughs.

Meanwhile the mayor has to show he is serious about his commitment to a mini-Holland in every borough (though eveb this term he is worried aboout it sounding a bit too contentious for the pro-rat-running mobs).

 

Avatar
GREGJONES | 7 years ago
4 likes

Meanwhile thechildren of Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham continue to breath in dirty air and suffer the health effects.

Surely this is something that should be adopted by all urban areas not just a select few. And frankly how many kids live in that small area anyway, multimillionaires excluded.

Avatar
brooksby replied to GREGJONES | 7 years ago
0 likes

GREGJONES wrote:

Meanwhile thechildren of Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham continue to breath in dirty air and suffer the health effects. Surely this is something that should be adopted by all urban areas not just a select few. And frankly how many kids live in that small area anyway, multimillionaires excluded.

I think Bristol is considering it...

Avatar
Beecho | 7 years ago
0 likes

Surely it's better than nowt guys? Anyway, a Mexico City 'Hoy No Circula' style scheme is what I'd like to see given a trial, but there's fat chance of that happening.

Avatar
turnerjohn replied to ajd | 7 years ago
0 likes

ajd wrote:

http://www.airqualitynews.com/2016/04/21/all-top-diesel-cars-break-real-...

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/21/all-top-selling-cars-br...

Don't you read the news??

Of cause however 

both your links relate to Euro 5-6...the tax relates to Euro 4 !

Avatar
ajd replied to turnerjohn | 7 years ago
1 like

turnerjohn wrote:

ajd wrote:

http://www.airqualitynews.com/2016/04/21/all-top-diesel-cars-break-real-...

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/21/all-top-selling-cars-br...

Don't you read the news??

Of cause however 

both your links relate to Euro 5-6...the tax relates to Euro 4 !

Try this then:

http://fleetworld.co.uk/study-shows-cars-struggle-to-meet-euro-3-emissio...

Enough evidence for you?

Avatar
ajd replied to turnerjohn | 7 years ago
1 like

turnerjohn wrote:

ajd wrote:

http://www.airqualitynews.com/2016/04/21/all-top-diesel-cars-break-real-...

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/21/all-top-selling-cars-br...

Don't you read the news??

Of cause however 

both your links relate to Euro 5-6...the tax relates to Euro 4 !

Try this then:

http://fleetworld.co.uk/study-shows-cars-struggle-to-meet-euro-3-emissio...

Enough evidence for you?

Avatar
ajd replied to turnerjohn | 7 years ago
2 likes

turnerjohn wrote:

ajd wrote:

http://www.airqualitynews.com/2016/04/21/all-top-diesel-cars-break-real-...

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/21/all-top-selling-cars-br...

Don't you read the news??

Of cause however 

both your links relate to Euro 5-6...the tax relates to Euro 4 !

Try this then:

http://fleetworld.co.uk/study-shows-cars-struggle-to-meet-euro-3-emissio...

Enough evidence for you?

Avatar
brooksby | 7 years ago
5 likes

It's also carbon footprint vs air pollution. If everyone owning a pre 2005 car scraps it and goes out and buys a new car (assuming, of course, that they can afford to), well isn't it something like 90% of a car's carbon footprint is supposed to be in its manufacturing...? So air pollution 10 out of 10, but minus several million for carbon footprint...

Avatar
kie7077 | 7 years ago
8 likes

Too little too late, total window dressing.

"The owners of diesel and petrol vehicles manufactured before 2005 that do not meet Euro 4 emissions standards "

The problem is the vehicles that are supposed to meet these standards don't. And that likely includes vehicles that are supposed to meet even more stringent standards.

Real news would be an announcement that 500,000 electric vehicle charging points are to be installed for cabs, buses, delivery vehicles etc.

Avatar
turnerjohn replied to kie7077 | 7 years ago
1 like

kie7077 wrote:

The problem is the vehicles that are supposed to meet these standards don't. And that likely includes vehicles that are supposed to meet even more stringent standards.

er where is you evidence backing up your claim ?

charging points  are being installed but a) their not free so who pays b) without changing to electric - an expensive propersition; something I can't see many companies willing or in deed able to buy new (without dramatically increasing delivery costs which will simply be passed onto the end user...us) they will sit around unused .

agreed something needs to be done I'm not disputing that but it's not a simple overnight fix !

Avatar
Prosper0 replied to turnerjohn | 7 years ago
7 likes

turnerjohn wrote:

kie7077 wrote:

The problem is the vehicles that are supposed to meet these standards don't. And that likely includes vehicles that are supposed to meet even more stringent standards.

er where is you evidence backing up your claim ?

Ugh, where have you been?

 VW emissions scandal. Massive news. I can't be bothered to research something so obvious for you. Google it 

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