Driving A Pre-2005 Car In London Is About To Get Seriously Expensive

According to new figures, 1.6 million Londoners stand to be hit by £12 a day charges thanks to an Ultra Low Emissions Zone expansion

Matt Robinson

01 Feb 2018

Driving A Pre-2005 Car In London Is About To Get Seriously Expensive

Like many big cities, London isn’t exactly a car-friendly place. The capital’s motorists already face chronic traffic problems and an £11.50 a day Congestion Charge fee, with the recent £10 ‘T-Charge’ (Toxicity-Charge) introduction merely adding to the pain. And in the next few years it’s set to get worse.

Currently, the T-Charge covers all vehicles that comply with Euro III standards or earlier, but by 8 April 2019, the Ultra Low Emission Zone will be established, meaning motorbikes will need to be at least Euro 3 compliant or better, petrol cars at least Euro 4, and diesels Euro 6 or newer. Unlike T-Charge, which operates from 7am-6pm Monday to Friday, ULEZ will be a 24 hours a day, seven days a week kinda deal. If your car doesn’t comply, it’s a £12.50 fee, on top of the £11.50 Congestion Charge (which covers the same area of central London) if you travel at the ‘wrong’ time.

“Ah,” you’re probably thinking, “I’ll just avoid central London. It’s a nightmare to drive in anyway.” You’d have a point, but the current proposal is to expand the ULEZ in 2021, up to the North and South Circular roads.

This would mean driving a pre-2005 petrol car anywhere at any time in this huge area is going to cost £12. It’s worse for diesel owners - any pre-2014 model won’t be Euro 6, so it’ll be liable for the charge. So it’s not just cool, modern classics that’ll become prohibitively expensive to run in London, but hundreds of thousands of regular motors.

This week Autocar obtained new figures from the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) that point to over 1.6 million drivers being affected by the extended zone. Specifically, 782,439 diesel cars and 858,018 petrols currently in the capital fall foul of the proposed changes, far more than the 576,000 total figure which Transport For London has touted.

A public consultation on the expansion is running is running until 28 February 2018.

Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.

Comments

so basically what they are saying is: if you can’t afford a new car now, you have to pay us dem moneys so that you definitly can’t afford a new car later on and so you have to keep giving them all the moneys. nice plan…

America is becoming the place every car guy wants to go too. I used to not understand, now i do. RIP all my hoes in London

The solution is less cars, not electric cars

That’s bolocks some people rely on older cars because that’s what they can afford and making it more expensive for them isn’t fair at all. I rest my case.

Aaaaaaand i will never go to london.

So they dont care about to poor, who can’t afford a new car, or about the average joe who wants to keep his car for longer than a average lease. Lost for words.