With three months to go until the launch of the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in the central London Congestion Charge Zone, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has urged London’s drivers and business owners who drive in the zone to check whether their vehicles comply with new, stricter emissions standards designed to tackle the capital’s toxic air.

The world’s first ULEZ will come into effect in the current central London Congestion Charge Zone on 8th April 2019 and will replace the current Toxicity Charge*. Vehicles will need to meet new, tighter exhaust emission standards or pay a daily charge (£12.50 for cars, vans and motorcycles, £100 for busses, coaches and lorries) to travel within the zone. The Congestion Charge will be unchanged by the introduction of ULEZ and will continue to apply for all eligible vehicles entering the Congestion Charge zone.

Drivers can use TFL’s simple online checking tool to see if their vehicle will meet ULEZ’s tough, new emissions standards.

Across the country, toxic air leads to 40,000 premature deaths every year, and increases the risk of asthma, cancer, dementia – imposing a financial burden of £20 billion on the economy every year. London’s filthy air makes chronic illnesses worse, shortens life expectancy and damages lung development in children

The introduction of ULEZ is a central part of the Mayor’s far-reaching plan to tackle London’s toxic air and address the severe health impact of poor air quality. The Mayor has already started projects to clean up the capital’s bus and taxi fleets, roll out rapid charging infrastructure to support electric vehicles, delivered improvements to some of London’s most polluted schools, planted thousands of new trees and funded a scrappage scheme to help micro-businesses prepare for ULEZ.

A major awareness campaign is underway by Transport for London (TfL) to ensure drivers are prepared for the introduction of ULEZ. This includes contacting more than 2.5 million registered Congestion Charge users whose vehicles do not meet the ULEZ standards, to remind them the new zone begins on 8 April 2019. TfL is also contacting other drivers it identifies in central London whose vehicles are not currently ULEZ-compliant. This has helped encourage 1.5 million visits to TfL’s online compliance checker so far.