London Mayor Sadiq Khan has today launched a £110m scrappage scheme to support disabled Londoners, people on lower incomes, and charities and small busineses with 10 or fewer employees.
The scheme is launched ahead of the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone to cover the whole of London and an additional 5 million Londoners on August 29 this year.
Successful applicants will receive funding to scrap or retrofit their old, polluting vehicles.
Along with the scrappage scheme, the Mayor and TfL are announcing a range of ULEZ support offers from businesses.
These will enable Londoners to benefit from discounts and promotions on subscriptions, rentals and purchases of bicycles, e-bikes, cargo bikes, cars and vans.
Already around 85 per cent of vehicles seen driving in outer London meet the ULEZ standards, meaning the majority of drivers will not need to pay.
Londoners receiving certain means-tested benefits and non-means-tested disability benefits can apply for cash grants of up to £2,000 to scrap their non-compliant cars or motorcycles.
As a new feature, successful applicants can also choose to opt for a package comprising up to two free annual bus and tram passes and a lower cash grant.
Disabled people who want to scrap or retrofit a non-compliant wheelchair accessible vehicle will be able to apply for grants of £5,000 to reflect the higher cost of these vehicles.
Disabled people can also apply for a nominated driver if they do not drive themselves. The nominated driver does not need to live at the same address as the applicant.
Charities, sole traders and businesses with 10 or fewer employees registered in London can apply to scrap a van (£5,000 grant) or a minibus (£7,000 grant), retrofit certain vans or minibuses (£5,000 grant) or scrap and replace a van or minibus with a fully electric vehicle (£7,500 or £9,500 grant respectively).
In addition to the scrappage scheme, the Mayor is providing further support for disabled people, through new and extended grace periods. The two new grace periods provide exemptions until October 2027 for recipients of certain disability benefits and for all wheelchair accessible vehicles and some vehicles with other adaptations.
Poor air quality is not just a central London problem. In fact, the greatest number of deaths related to air pollution occur in outer London areas.
The ULEZ has already made a significant difference, helping to reduce harmful nitrogen dioxide pollution by nearly half in central London. But the mayor says further action is needed to help the five million Londoners in outer boroughs breathe clearer air too.
Cars, motorcycles, vans and other specialist vehicles (up to and including 3.5 tonnes) and minibuses (up to and including 5 tonnes) will need to meet the ULEZ emissions standards or pay a daily charge of £12.50 when driving within the zone, including the expanded area from 29 August.
More than four out of five vehicles already meet the standards. But, if a petrol vehicle over 16 years old or a diesel vehicle over 6 years old, will need to be checked to see if it meets ULEZ standards. Check your vehicle here