London Mayor Sadiq Khan plans to extend the ULEZ charging area on August 29, 2023, prompting Transport for London to launch a public consultation, which ends today. Originally launched in May this year, the consultation looked to hear from residents of London and the surrounding areas about how it would affect drivers.
The extension will extend the ULEZ from the North and South Circular roads to cover almost all of Greater London.
If the plans are successful, non-compliant petrol and diesel vehicles will have to pay £12.50 every day to drive in London.
In the last four days, more than 5,000 supporters of the FairFuelUK Campaign and the Alliance of British Drivers have responded to the consultation.
Of the supporters, most expressed their fervent opposition to the ULEZ expansion proposals.
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He said: “Most rational people, all across the UK are baffled how one man can have the singular power, via his left wing idealistic ill-informed green agenda, be allowed to even contemplate punishing London’s drivers yet more so.
“All as per usual, at the inevitable expense of already high taxed and demonised drivers.”
For some drivers, they face monthly costs as high as £387.50 to drive inside the area if their car is not compliant.
If someone, like a van driver or key worker, were to drive in the capital every day for a year, they would be hit with collective charges of more than £4,500.
One local business owner, Lance Forman, Owner of H. Forman & Son Smoked Salmon, said: “Like many small businesses making deliveries to customers, first we had to face the congestion charge and then the ULEZ charge.
“These charges are bad for business, pushing up their costs and ultimately prices for their customers.
“Extending the reach as Khan is now doing, shows he doesn’t care about inflation, doesn’t care about business and doesn’t care about the cost of living.
“This is not the time or the place.”