While most construction tradesfolk may be more concerned about the impact on their wallet, Sadiq Khan says the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) in London will be good for their health
Speaking to Fix Radio today, he said: “It's in tradespeople’s interests to be having vehicles that are compliant because it means they take off less time from work by being unwell because of air pollution.”
The £12.50 per day charge for non-complying vehicles currently applies to inner London only; on 29th August is widens out to cover all 32 London boroughs. It applies to petrol cars and vans that do not meet Euro 4 standards (which is most vehicles pre-2006) and diesel cars and vans that do not meet Euro 6 standards (most vehicles pre-2015).
Sadiq Khan told Fix Radio: "The first thing to recognise is, you know, tradespeople are concerned about the amount of congestion on our roads, what we want to do is take off our roads, cars that don't need to be there. So those people who need to be driving and they include many of your listeners and readers who needs to be driving can do so without being stuck in traffic, actually, by having more people walk, cycle and use public transport, it means less time stuck in traffic and leads to greater productivity.
“The second thing I'd say to you is we've been listening to some of the concerns raised by people who use a van. So for example, my scrappage scheme, which gives £5000 towards scrapping a van we've been told isn't enough, because to buy a new van, you can't buy a decent van for £5000 that's ULEZ compliant. So what I'm announcing today is an extension of the amount of money that's received from £5,000 to £7,000 for every van you have, but also I recognise that there are some small businesses which have more than one ban that is not used as compliance time, I’m giving those small businesses the finances of up to up to £21,000 scrap three vans
“Also, I've been told by tradespeople who have retrofitted their vehicle that actually I give them £5,000 support towards retrofitting actually costs a bit more than that. So I'm announcing today £6,000 support towards retrofitting your van. The final point to make is this: if you are a driver, driving a car that has to pay the ULEZ charge, it means you're driving a vehicle where you're breathing in more poison then you should be breathing in. So you should want to be driving a cleaner vehicle you should want to be driving a ULEZ compliant vehicle because it reduces your life expectancy and makes it more likely rather than less likely, you'll get asthma, dementia, heart disease or cancer.
“I understand, it's particularly difficult now. Tradespeople are taking time off work because of asthma and other health related issues caused by respiratory conditions. It's in tradespeople’s’ interests to be having vehicles that are compliant because it means they take off less time from work by being unwell because of air pollution."
A report commissioned by Transport for London estimated that 30,000 non-compliant vans currently use the expanded ULEZ area every day. There are currently only 23,803 compliant vans available for across the UK, Fix radio reports.
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