MASSIVE cost revealed! Khan confirms £200m cost of London-wide ULEZ expansion.

Sadiq Khan plans to spend £200m of Londoners' money on a huge network of cameras and signs. [1]

If the Mayor's plans go ahead, the expanded ULEZ zone will cover the whole of London, and will see those driving a non-compliant vehicles charged £12.50 a day.

It has been confirmed that this new ULEZ expansion is projected to cost £200 million, much of which will be spent on a vast camera network, tracking vehicles entering the zone and driving around the Capital.

His latest expansion, to within the North & South Circular, came into force as recently as October 2021. Data from this expansion is not yet available.

Instead, £200m could be used to actively improve the environment through tested methods. It could buy:

• 500 electric buses, [2] increase of 63% to TfL’s current number of electric buses (785) [3]

• Funding for 200,000 cars to be scrapped [4]

• Funding for a significant number of new “school streets” [5] which prevent non-residents travelling through school zones during school-run times and are estimated to reduce nitrogen dioxide by up to 23% during morning drop off [6]

• 1.3 million bikes (assuming bike cost is £150)

The £200m cost for this scheme comes out of the Mayor’s funding pot of almost £400m [7] he set aside for exploratory transport and air quality schemes; he is yet to confirm how he will spend the nearly £200m he has left aside.

In response to the £200m projected cost of the London-wide ULEZ expansion, Nick Rogers AM said:

“Let’s not forget 200 million pounds is a lot of money. It could be put to much better use and have a more positive environmental impact if spent in other ways. £200m could bolster TfL’s fleet with 500 double decker electric buses or fund up more than a year’s worth of new school streets for example, instead the Mayor is proposing a surveillance system and a tax for countless Londoners.

Alternatively, this money could be used to keep services running, improve real term transport provisions and help pull TfL out of its financial blackhole. Instead, he is threatening service cuts and refusing to enact surely unavoidable reforms.

Data on the impact of his October 2021 expansion is not yet available, yet the Mayor seems determined to storm ahead with an incredibly expensive policy he cannot justify. London deserves better than a Mayor spending money to enact policies he hasn’t properly considered.

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[1] https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transparency/freedom-of-information/foi-request-detail?referenceId=FOI-0550-2223 [2] https://www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-news/how-much-london-bus-actually-22355188 [3] https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/bus-fleet-data-and-audits [4] Based on latest scrappage scheme assumptions: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/car-and-motorcycle-scrappage-scheme#on-this-page-1 [5] 20/21 budget was £149m, ULEZ expansion would cost £200m https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2021/0576 [6] https://cleancitiescampaign.org/2022/05/06/parents-find-school-run-three-times-more-stressful-than-work-meeting-as-londoners-launch-europe-wide-school-streets-campaign/ [7] ‘Transport funding reserve': Mayor of London, Part 2 Final Draft Consolidated Budget 2022-23 Explanation of Proposals (page 60), 16 February 2022