£10 vehicle pollution charge set for London

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has confirmed that a £10 toxic ‘T-Charge’ will be put in place for the most polluting cars in central London from 23 October.

The T-charge, also known as the Emissions Surcharge, will operate alongside the Congestion Charge (Monday to Friday 7am-6pm), meaning that it will cost £21.50 to drive a pre-Euro 4 vehicle in the zone. Up to 10,000 of the oldest, most polluting vehicles are expected every weekday to be potentially liable for the new emissions levy.

A free online vehicle checker has been installed on the Transport for London (TfL) website so that drivers can check whether their vehicle will be affected by the T-Charge. The T-Charge itself will use a camera-based mechanism for enforcement, monitoring both diesel and petrol vehicles.

Khan is under increasing pressure to tackle the capital’s air pollution crisis, with over 9,000 Londoners dying prematurely each year as a result of long-term exposure to air pollution, and 438 schools in the capital currently exceeding legal air quality levels.

London is working to join a growing number of cities around the world taking action against rising air pollution, with Paris recently banning older more polluting vehicles from its streets between 8am-8pm on weekdays.

Khan said: “On the 14th anniversary of the start of the congestion charge, I’ve confirmed we are pressing ahead with the toughest emission standard of any major city, coming to our streets from 23 October. Londoners overwhelmingly support my plans to introduce this £10 charge because they feel when it comes to battling pollution the time for action is now.

“The T-Charge is a vital step in tackling the dirtiest diesels before I introduce the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone as early as 2019. I will continue to do everything in my power to help protect the health of Londoners and clean our filthy air. But now is the time for government to show real leadership and join me by introducing a diesel scrappage fund and bring in the new Clean Air Act we desperately need.”

Leon Daniels, TfL’s managing director of Surface Transport, added: “London’s air quality crisis is one of the biggest challenges we face and we are working alongside the Mayor to address it. The T-Charge is a crucial part of this work and will discourage drivers of the oldest, most polluting vehicles from driving in central London. To help drivers we have created an online compliance checker, which can be found on the TfL website, that enables people to easily establish whether they will be affected by the charge.”