The mayor of London has launched an up to GBP2,000 scrappage allowance for non-ULEZ compliant vehicles though it only applies to owners of non-compliant vehicles who also claim benefits.
Last March, he announced a GBP48m combined scheme which would help scrap older vans for the capital’s micro business owners and low-income Londoners scrap older cars.
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A new GBP25m car scrappage fund followed earlier plans for a GBP23m fund to help micro-businesses scrap vans that do not comply with the new Ultra Low Emission Zone standards, but which are driven into the ULEZ central London zone regularly.
The Central London ULEZ began operating on 8 April and aims to reduce toxic emissions in central London by around 45% by 2020, together with measures to clean up taxis and buses. Taking further action, including expanding the ULEZ up to the North and South Circular roads in 2021, will ensure that every school in London meets legal pollution limits by 2025.
The GBP25m polluting vehicle scrappage scheme opened today for low-income and disabled residents of the 32 boroughs.
The mayor’s office claims polluting vehicles account for around 50% of London’s harmful NOx air emissions. It also claims air pollution has an economic cost to the capital of up to GBP3.7bn every year, and a GBP20bn cost to the country every year.
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By GlobalDataMotorists can apply for GBP1,000 for scrapping a motorcycle or moped or GBP2,000 for scrapping a car.
Alongside this, eligible applicants will be able to take advantage of a number of other offers and benefits such as a year’s free membership of Santander Cycles [nee ‘Boris Bikes’] for all journeys up to 30 minutes.
The launch of the scrappage scheme comes despite no funding from government.
The mayor has also launched the first all-electric London black cab by Dynamo which is expected to accelerate the retirement of current diesel taxis from city streets across the UK.
The ULEZ standards are:
- Euro 3 for motorcycles, mopeds, motorised tricycles and quadricycles (L category)
- 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
- Euro VI (NOx and PM) for lorries, buses and coaches and other specialist heavy vehicles (NOx and PM)
Euro 3 became mandatory for all new motorcycles in 2007, Euro 4 became mandatory for all new cars in 2005 and light vans in 2006 and Euro 6 became mandatory for all new heavy duty engines for goods vehicles and buses from January 2014, September 2015 for cars and light vans, and September 2016 for larger vans up to and including 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight.
DriveNow, part of Share Now, the car sharing service from BMW and Daimler, has claimed the looming ULEZ expansion would potentially lead to 3.5m fewer cars on UK roads.
It cited research which looked at the future expansion of the London ULEZ zone to the North and South Circular roads on 25 October 2021 and found that it would have a profound effect on car ownership across the country, particularly amongst young people.
Key findings include:
- 21% of owners plan to sell their car due to ULEZ expansion and 9% plan to not replace cars sold
- Young people are the most likely age group to give up their cars with nearly 1 in 5 of 18-24 year olds planning to sell their car and walk, cycle, use public transport more or use a car sharing service instead
- 5% who won’t be selling their cars will instead use sustainable car sharing for trips in London
- The ULEZ expansion will cause 10% of motorists to drive less frequently, rising to 16% in the south east
“Overall the effect of ULEZ appears to be bigger than initially imagined and it could have a positive effect on air quality not only in London, but also further afield,” DriveNow said.
Share Now said those opting for the ULEZ scrappage scheme would be able to claim a GBP100 credit to encourage them to move away from private car ownership.
