London pollution could be reduced without ULEZ, claims expert

The ULEZ was expanded across all of Greater London at the end of August in a bid to reduce air pollution. 

The zone charges all drivers of non-compliant cars £12.50 a day to drive within the ULEZ and was put in place by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

However, now a traffic expert is suggesting that there is a better and cheaper solution to London’s pollution. 

Every London resident can apply to the Mayor of London’s ULEZ scrappage scheme ????

The scheme provides grant payments to successful applicants to scrap or retrofit vehicles that do not meet the emissions standards and switch to cleaner, greener modes of transport. Find out more…

— TfL (@TfL) October 12, 2023

London pollution could be reduced without the ULEZ

The expert, Andy Marchant from Sat Nav manufactures TomTom suggests that better traffic management in the capital could reduce pollution.

As Andy shares research by TomTom shows that emissions across London have increased in the last year because of ‘slow-moving traffic.’

Adding: “The ULEZ expansion is just one part of the bigger picture around improving London’s air quality.

“Public programmes that aim to tackle rising traffic emissions, including London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) expansion, remain essential to supporting the UK’s ambition to reach net zero by 2050.”

Andy went on to share what the solution away from the ULEZ could be, saying: “With drivers in UK cities spending 2 per cent longer stuck in slow-moving traffic last year compared to 2021, it’s inevitable that London’s fuel consumption (petrol consumption rose 2.5 per cent from 2021 and diesel consumption rose by 2.5% year on year) and CO² emissions increased at the same time.

“To truly reduce London’s transport emissions long-term, better traffic management is needed to ensure viable traffic flows and the efficient use of city infrastructure.

Check to see if your vehicle meets the ULEZ emissions standards ✅

If you need to pay the ULEZ daily charge, you can pay online using TfL’s official website, or the easiest way to pay is to register for Auto Pay.

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— TfL (@TfL) October 10, 2023

“For public authorities in particular, real-time data intelligence will play a significant role in transforming how people move around UK cities, supporting our transition to less diesel and petrol consumption and more sustainable transportation.”

Discussing whether traffic control could be a better solution, a TfL spokesperson told MyLondon: “The expansion of the ULEZ is bringing the benefits of the scheme to a further five million Londoners living in outer London, where more than half of the deaths attributable to air pollution occur.

“This goes hand in hand with our work to keep Londoners moving on the roads safely – our 24/7 control centre uses live data and CCTV cameras across the road network to monitor traffic, manage congestion and disruption and facilitate major events that can affect the roads.

“We have a London-wide programme of traffic signal timing reviews to make sure that each signal is working as safely and efficiently as possible.

“We are also working to overhaul the way we manage London’s road network, developing new software to enable us to respond to incidents on the roads much more quickly, keeping the roads safe and clear.”