New £10 'T-charge' confirmed for London to reduce vehicle pollution

The new levy will affect both petrol and diesel cars with pre-Euro 4 engines

 
The Mayor of London has confirmed that, from 23rd October 2017, motorists who own older, more polluting vehicles but want to drive into the centre of the capital will be charged an additional £10.
The new £10 ‘T-charge’ will be an extra charge, co-existing alongside the current £11.50 congestion charge, and will affect both petrol and diesel cars that have pre-Euro 4 engines, which are mainly those registered before 2005.
The toxicity charge has been introduced as a way of hopefully improving the quality of the air in London and the new fee could affect around 10,000 vehicles.

 
The new levy will co-exist alongside the current charge, which is in operation on weekdays from 7am to 6pm.
“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,” said Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London.
Mr Khan also has other plans in the pipeline to help cut pollution levels in the capital, including the introduction of low-emission double decker buses across the city.
The Ultra Low Emissions Zone is now set to be introduced one year earlier than originally planned for 2019 and will be extended further than central London from 2020, as far as the North and South Circular.
Buses, cars, lorries and vans that do not meet the emissions benchmark will be charged around £12.50 or more.
A new scrappage scheme is also one of the Mayor’s proposed plans, which could help to reduce the levels of pollution on the capital’s roads, as well as the rest of the UK.
Transport for London have been asked by Mr Khan to look into the costs and significance of such a scheme for the most polluting diesel vehicles on UK roads, a scheme that would need to be rolled out across the country by the Government.
Paul Walters, Head of Road Policy at the AA, suggested the Mayor ought not to jump straight into introducing a new charge for London motorists in 2017 but instead give people time to get used to and plan for the much anticipated introduction of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone.
Mr Walters believes that the introduction of the T-charge over a widespread area of London “will be a much bigger issue for many more London road users than if it had just been in a central area.”
 
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