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• Urban Mobility Readiness 2021 League Table (OliverWyman)
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ULEZ First month success….
Funny thing, success.
* Reducing older polluting vehicles: mostly a success.
Not as much of a success if as it could have been if the scrappage options had been more generous to get residents vehicles off the road, and there is still the issue of trains, cranes, trailer refrigeration, and exempted showmans vehicles and heritage vehicles (petrol, diesel, and steam).
* Paying for the capital works to support ULEZ enforcement in a sensible timeframe?:
Probably much less of a success, too few vehicles being charged.
Unclear if the operational costs will being covered by the vehicles charged (some costs are shared with existing C-charge/T-charge, but there will be additional new costs)
* Actually improving air quality?:
Too soon to know, needs several months or a years worth of consistent measurement at multiple points across the zone, especially some black spots not previously covered by T-charge.
Agree re the scrappage options; as an outer London resident with a non-compliant diesel I’ll grit my teeth and pay up on the rare occasions I actually need to drive into central London, shifting furniture, elderly mother-in-law, a large trifle etc. rather than shell out for a replacement car before this one stops working. I’d be surprised if exempt heritage vehicles add significantly to pollution levels; there are better targets to pick on.
It could be said that the ULEZ is a success if no vehicles are charged; its primary purpose should be to discourage the use of the most polluting vehicles, not rake in money from them.
The rumours suggest an entire-London ULEZ from 2024 is on the table now.
There are a huge number of older diesels and otherwise non-compliant vehicles outside the ring roads, this is where car ownership takes off due to demographics.
This could be a real problem without a decent scrappage scheme.
I might try and sell my diesel Golf at my parents in Lincs before then (as scrappage schemes are often linked to buying a brand new car, which is out of reach for many older car owners for affordability or ‘no way’ reasons), but it runs well and probably has many more years in it, but falls foul of the rules.