dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

Sadiq Khan has changed the ULEZ charge to a congession charge and now will be charging all motorists even electric cars owners for driving in london inside the M25

you heard it here first

Sadiq Khan to impose congestion charge on electric vehicles

Gareth Corfield

Tue, July 2, 2024 at 2:28 PM GMT+1·5 min read

https://www.yahoo.com/news/sadiq-khan-impose-congestion-charge-132803827.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9zZWFyY2guYnJhdmUuY29tLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJkr2n0kS4QO801Br_UcIJZQ28QxguN6EQwdz0_Vr9y1k6esBGf3QXiMxCN5MEMsTqIwqejItoc-ZN1uzjrja6A-rQCo3Y-56bnhgGlj6wudK2zCDlEWkFa48B4IZcvCC3bwYZx0dDammwoWj3zuNXL_9BeU5-J5Ueh1OmFtHEVO

Sadiq Khan is extending London’s congestion charge to all zero-emission vehicles from the end of next year.

The move, which will extend the £15-a-day tax on motoring to battery-powered electric vehicles from Christmas Day 2025, was widely condemned on Tuesday.

Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, said the plans showed that Labour wanted to use motorists as “cash cows” if the party wins this week’s general election.

The AA described the scrapping of the green exemption as “a turkey bone in the throat” for owners of electric cars wanting to drive them in the capital.

Mr Khan’s office declined to comment when approached by The Telegraph.

The Mayor of London has spoken extensively over the years about his personal drive to improve London’s air quality by imposing swingeing charges and restrictions on motorists, including the Low Emission Zone (Lez) and the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez).

In March he said: “Every Londoner should be proud of the remarkable progress we’ve made in improving our air quality since 2016. Together we’ve cut roadside nitrogen dioxide pollution in half and achieved the lowest annual levels on record.”

‘Plans seem counterproductive’

Transport for London (TfL), which the Mayor of London chairs, confirmed this week that it is proceeding with plans to remove the current £10-a-year exemption which lets owners of battery-powered vehicles drive in London without paying the £15-a-day congestion charge.

A spokesman said the plans were first announced in 2018, highlighting a statement from that year which mainly talked about scrapping exemptions for taxis.

The congestion charge exemption does not apply to the Lez or Ulez schemes.

Confirmation on Tuesday that the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) exemptions will be scrapped were condemned by former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson, who now campaigns for a faster transition to electric vehicles (EVs).

Mr Willson told The Telegraph that the plans seemed “counterproductive” and that his FairCharge UK group would be writing to the mayor to object to them.

“The cynic in me can’t help thinking that this is a revenue based issue,” he said. “Why are we stopping it now? And they will say, ‘well, it’s a congestion issue’. But then surely, it’s manifestly better to have cars with zero tailpipe emissions sitting in queues rather than those that are polluting diesel and petrol?

“So to me, it just doesn’t work with his campaign to make London a much greener, cleaner air city. It seems completely counterproductive.”

continues in link above, you get the drift