ULEZ expansion triggers new scrappage scheme
Eligible Londoners to be granted up to £5k for upgrades as ULEZ grows
There’s nothing that’ll get a debate raging like scrappage schemes, be that from an environmental perspective or just the sad demise of old cars - and you could say the same for the questionable benefits of the ULEZ. So this qualifies as a perfect storm: with the ULEZ expanding right up to the M25 at the end of August, Transport for London is launching a new £110m programme to get those in the capital into an eligible car.
There are some caveats, of course. Up to £5,000 per person is going to be offered to those with cars or motorbikes that don’t meet the emissions criteria of ULEZ (Euro 4 petrol, Euro 6 diesel) if they are on ‘certain low income or disability benefits’. According to TfL, that’s things like Income Support, Housing Benefit, Disability Living Allowance and so on.
The maximum £5k grant is for either scrapping a wheelchair-accessible car or van, or retrofitting the latter with equipment to make it compliant. There’s a Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme, and garages on that list can bring a wheelchair-accessible vehicle up to standard. Those scrapping a car will get £2,000, which anyone searching for a used car right now will tell you doesn’t go an awfully long way. Alternatively, residents can opt for £1,600 plus one adult rate Annual Bus & Tram Pass or £1,200 plus two of the passes for their old car. Or, of course, they can keep it, and pay the daily charge to drive in any of London’s 32 boroughs.
TfL says the scheme will help clear London’s air and encourage the switch to ‘cleaner, greener modes of transport’. Certainly, nobody who’s lived in the capital would suggest it ever feels like the healthiest place to breathe, but then life isn’t as simple as just buying a newer, less polluting car - even with a financial incentive. And especially not right now. Those wishing to apply have plenty of hoops to jump through, largely relating to proof of ownership and proof of benefits, but the scheme gets even dafter as scrapping a vehicle could affect benefits and tax status.
Because some means-tested benefits can be influenced by savings, the grant money could come in, leave somebody without a car, put applicants over a certain threshold and consequently change the claim, which is a totally absurd - and therefore completely believable - situation for people to be put in. ‘TfL will have no liability to you if the ULEZ car and motorcycle scrappage scheme grant payment affects any means-tested benefits you receive.’ And this is meant to be encouraging people out of their cars!
So there might be some teething problems, to put it mildly. The full rundown of who is eligible and what to do ahead of August can be found here; suffice it to say there will be plenty more to say about the latest scrappage scheme over the next six months. And maybe a few cars for sale in the capital too…
Next thing they will outlaw are domestic petrol mowers and chainsaws etc.
Next thing they will outlaw are domestic petrol mowers and chainsaws etc.
TBF my asthma does play up when I stay in a property with either of those as its sole source of heating but surely concentrations are incredibly low outside in London where such fuels are rare
Except.....
Will people who motoring minded remember that they have to take one that is ok on E10 fuel? Or just buy one that should be run on super unleaded but has been run on the E10 all through the last couple of years and during the petrol crisis & therefore is likely to go bang a little bit earlier than expected? Because with £5000 to spend on a car as a maximum and heating bills to pay a lot of people will run the risk and buy what they can afford.
Still, when it does go bang and you still can't afford to replace it because there are far fewer affordable cars, they will be loads of buses and trains to keep everyone moving, won't there?
Euro 4 diesel here, no grant for me as I am not on benefits.
Euro 4 diesel here, no grant for me as I am not on benefits.
Cities with clean air zones
Bath has a Class C clean air zone.
Birmingham has a Class D clean air zone.
Bradford has a Class C clean air zone.
Bristol has a Class D clean air zone.
Portsmouth has a Class B clean air zone.
Tyneside (Newcastle and Gateshead) has a Class C clean air zone.
Future clean air zones
Greater Manchester (under review).
Sheffield will start charging on 27 February 2023.
It would cost me £8 to drive in Birmingham
And yes, CO2 doesn't have a direct impact on air quality, it's particulates etc they are worried about hence less sophisticated petrols (which inherintly produce fewer particulates etc) are allowed but diesels have to be very clean.
My neighbours 2009 Q7 3.0 diesel is exempt yet produces 279g/cc of CO2 (the same as a coal fired power station).
Makes no bl00dy sense to me at all...
They use the Euro 4 for petrol and Euro 6 for diesel standards because its a simple cut off, but its a blunt tool and I bet most older E6 diesels wouldn't pass the standard now
but what's the alternative, test every vehicle every year? ban anything that's not a pure EV?
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