London’s vehicle scrappage scheme has allocated almost £18m to support small businesses, charities, low-income, and disabled Londoners in replacing their polluting vehicles with greener options before the ULEZ expansion.
The vehicle scrappage scheme has allocated nearly £18m since the end of January to help low-income and disabled Londoners, small businesses, and charities to take some of the most polluting vehicles off the roads ahead of the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London. While £13.5m has been allocated to drivers of vans and minibuses, most of which have gone to small businesses, over £4m has been committed to owners of non-compliant cars and motorcycles. So far, 4,833 applications have been approved through the scheme, with £17,727,500 committed to date.
The scrappage scheme was launched to support smaller businesses, sole traders, charities, Londoners on lower incomes, and disabled Londoners in replacing their older, more polluting vehicles with greener options. Eligibility can vary depending on personal circumstances, but analysis shows that many people who are eligible do not realize it. TfL urges everyone to check the TfL website to see if they can access the scheme.
The London-wide ULEZ is vital to tackle air pollution, the climate emergency, and congestion. The latest TfL data shows that 90% of cars seen driving in outer London on an average day already meet the standards, which is expected to increase when the scheme goes live later this year. Drivers have been heeding TfL’s advice to check their vehicle’s compliance, with over 8m visits to TfL’s vehicle checker since the ULEZ expansion was confirmed. Many drivers have been discovering that their vehicles are compliant with the ULEZ since most petrol vehicles under 16 years old and diesel vehicles under six years old already meet the emission standards.
With just over four months to go until the ULEZ expands, there are still tens of millions of pounds left in the scrappage fund, and TfL continues to advise drivers to check their vehicle’s compliance and make the most of the Mayor’s scrappage scheme. Based on previous schemes, there is usually an increase in applications closer to implementation.
Deputy Mayor for Environment & Energy, Shirley Rodrigues, said:
“Around 4,000 Londoners die every year as a result of our poor quality air, and it contributes to a range of serious health conditions from asthma, to cancer, to dementia.
While nine in 10 cars seen driving daily in outer London are already ULEZ-compliant, I’m pleased that thousands of owners of non-compliant vehicles have already applied to our scrappage scheme.
My message to Londoners today is that there is plenty of funding still available, and you may be entitled to the scrappage scheme and not realise it. So I urge people to go online today and see if they could also be eligible for thousands of pounds to scrap their polluting vehicle.”
Christina Calderato, TfL’s Director of Strategy and Policy, said:
“It is great to see that scrappage grants are already playing a significant role in supporting smaller businesses, those on low incomes, disabled people and charities to get ready for the expansion.
While the vast majority of cars driving in outer London on an average day are compliant, I urge drivers to use our vehicle checker, and if they have a non-compliant vehicle, check their eligibility for the scrappage scheme to help them make the switch to greener and cleaner travel.”
Source tfl.gov.uk
