ULEZ: Majority of motorists living in and around London unaware of expansion on Monday, study says

Only 43 per cent of motorists living in and around the capital are aware London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is set to expand on Monday, according to a new study.

The majority of drivers in London do not know about the expansion to ULEZ which would see motorists charged £12.50-a-day for non-compliant vehicles, research suggested.

Just 35 per cent of motorists living in and around London knew how to check if their vehicle will be charged, according to the study by car sales website Motorway.

Even fewer were confident on the new ULEZ boundaries, new data revealed.

Only 29 per cent cent of the 2,000 people surveyed knew which boroughs in south west London would be included in the expanded zone from Monday.

A third (or 33 per cent) were able to identify which parts of north, west and south east London would be applicable to the expansion zone.

And some 37 per cent of people knew which parts of north east London would be enforced by ULEZ cameras.

From October 25, the existing zone in central London will expand to the North Circular Road (A406) and South Circular Road (A205).

Motorway's Chief Executive Tom Leathes said: "Despite having over three years to prepare for the ULEZ expansion, more than half of drivers in and around London are clearly still in the dark about this news and will get a nasty surprise when they cross the north or south circular on Monday."

City Hall estimates about one in five vehicles in the enlarged 140 square mile zone will be liable to pay the £12.50-a-day levy, including 100,000 cars, 35,000 vans and 3,000 lorries.

However Transport for London (TfL) has said there are “high levels of awareness of ULEZ”.

Christina Calderato, TfL’s Director of Transport Strategy and Policy, said: “We don’t believe this data gives a true picture; Our own survey shows 77 per cent of people have checked their vehicle.

“We have seen high levels of awareness of ULEZ with more than 80 per cent of vehicles in the zone now compliant, compared with 39 per cent when it was announced in 2017.

“More than 10 million drivers have used our vehicle checker to verify if their vehicle is compliant and we would urge everyone to follow their lead and to only use the TfL checker.”

ULEZ applies to cars, motorcycles, vans and other specialist vehicles (up to and including 3.5 tonnes), and minibuses (up to and including 5 tonnes) and Transport for London says these vehicles will either need to meet the emissions standards, or pay a £12.50 daily charge.

The aim of ULEZ is to improve London’s air quality.

Air pollution can harm our lungs and worsen chronic illnesses such as asthma, lung and heart disease.

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