Assembly Member's Second Hand Car Advice Unwelcome

Says anyone affected by ULEZ expansion could buy compliant vehicle for £3,000


Second hand car prices have been rising. Picture: Lewis Clarke

 

ULEZ To Be Extended Across Whole of London

Calls Made for ULEZ To Be Extended To Improve Air Quality

ULEZ Equipment Costs To Top £100 million

11,000 Fewer Vehicles a Day in London Since ULEZ Start

Anger as Trips To The Tip Cost More Due To ULEZ

ULEZ Causing Problems for Mortlake Crematorium

Call for ULEZ Exemption for the Disabled

Electric Car Shortage Ahead of ULEZ Deadline

Mayor Criticised For Suggesting People Buy Second Hand Cars

Sign up for email newsletters from ActonW3.com, BrentfordTW8.com, ChiswickW4.com, EalingToday.co.uk, FulhamSW6.com HammersmithToday.co.uk, PutneySW15.com, ShepherdsBushW12.com, WandsworthSW18.com and WimbledonSW19.com

A Labour member of the London Assembly member has suggesting that people in outer London could buy a ULEZ-compliant car for £3,000 if they are concerned about paying the daily charge.

Following the rollout of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone expansion last October, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan earlier this year launched a public consultation over plans to expand the ULEZ further to cover the whole of Greater London by August 2023.

The issue was raised at a Mayor’s Question Time session at City Hall on Thursday (23 June) by Conservative Assembly Member Neil Garratt.

Mr Garratt said that he had been contacted by “lots of residents” in his constituency of Sutton and Croydon who are concerned about the financial implications of further expanding the ULEZ.

Drivers of cars that do not meet minimum emission standards must pay a daily charge of £12.50 to drive into the Ultra-Low Emission Zone.

Mr Garratt said: “[Residents] are worried about what that expansion would mean because they can’t afford to pay £12.50 a day to use their car, they can’t afford to replace their car with a car that doesn’t incur that charge, and they can’t get to work or do their daily journeys any other way.”

In response to Mr Garratt, Sadiq Khan said he would encourage those with concerns to respond to TfL’s public consultation on the plans and added that it was important to have a scrappage scheme in place “to support those who have a polluting vehicle”.

But following on from the question, Labour Assembly Member Leonie Cooper suggested that it was not “impossible” for outer London residents to buy a used ULEZ-compliant car for around £3,000.

Ms Cooper said: “If you do the calculation of £12.50 a day, five days a week, let’s say 46 weeks a year so six weeks of holiday – that works out as a payment of £2,875. If you look in… trader magazines where you can go and look for second-hand vehicles that would comply with the current level of the ULEZ that are widely available at £2,875 or thereabouts.”

Sadiq Khan was criticised for a similar suggestion last year ahead of the first expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone.

In an interview with the Standard in June 2021, Mr Khan said that he had sympathy for people whose vehicles did not meet minimum emissions standards, but that they could “buy a second-hand vehicle” to avoid having to pay the £12.50 levy.

Kevin Taylor, who lives just outside the current ULEZ and works in care home management said, "Advice like this most people could do without. Assembly members get close to £60,000 a year and generous benefits. However, they shouldn't assume that people can just rustle up three grand when it suits them and, if you have a family, you aren't going to get a suitable car for that price anyway and second hand prices are very high at the moment. I'm going to have to pay considerably more and get rid of a car which is taxed at a lower level by the government because of its low emissions."

Within the first month of last year’s ULEZ expansion, it was reported that 92 per cent of vehicles entering the zone were compliant with the new standards.

City Hall has estimated that expanding the zone to include outer London boroughs would remove an additional 20,000 to 40,000 polluting vehicles from London’s roads per day, reducing CO2 emissions by as much as 150,000 tonnes.

Londoners have until July 29 to respond to TfL’s public consultation on the proposed expansion.

Joe Talora - Local Democracy Reporter

 

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the ch June 24, 2022 . For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.


June 24, 2022