SADIQ KHAN TO CAUSE TRAVEL CHAOS FOR LONDON

Quick Facts:

Set to be introduced by 2019, with full capital implementation in 2021

“Polluting” cars will be forced to pay £12.50 per day, whilst vans and lorries could face daily fees of hundreds of pounds

Enfield to suffer due to residents having to pay to access nearest hospitals

ULTRA LOW EMISSION ZONE TO PUNISH LONDON'S POOREST

Sadiq Khan is ready to unleash travel chaos onto London. He plans to go ahead and ignore all advice on his new ill thought out plan for the capitals roads. Over 1.6 million of the capitals residents face the prospect of having to change their car or face huge daily charges.

Since its announcement in April 2017 residents of the capital have tried to push back and quash the imposition of the unfair Ultra Low Emission Zone to Central London. The scheme has been deeply unpopular due to its ill thought out design and its unfair enforcement onto people in London. Almost all residents of London agree to the target of improving air quality, but the ULEZ is the wrong step to take. What is most ironic is a Labour Mayor is punishing the poorest in society.

The ULEZ adds further unnecessary confusing bureaucracy and charges to small businesses and the poorest people who cannot afford the extra daily charges or to change their vehicles. Daily commuters or delivery services will be slapped with heavy daily charges making working life for nearly 2 million hard working Londoners difficult. “Polluting” cars will be forced to pay £12.50 per day, whilst vans and lorries could face fees of hundreds of pounds.

Mayor Sadiq Khan's proposed charges. One can remember that Khan has renegade on his other promises to "freeze" travel costs in London. Businesses and low income commuters alike will fear price rises 

To add confusion the ULEZ daily charge will be in addition to the Congestion Charge and the Low Emission Zone charge. Indeed your vehicle may be exempt from the Low Emission Zone charge but might be encapsulated into the ULEZ, plus the view is ever changing.

Many Londoners went and bought new Diesel cars in good faith that they were “good for the environment”, as it was the governments official opinion. Now many haulage companies, small businesses reliant on deliveries or individual commuters are to be punished with no official schemes to help them for governmental mistakes. A scrappage scheme funded by the huge amounts of income generated by the Congestion and ULEZ charges seems only fair, even if this offer was extended only to the poorest in London.

Autocar magazine also explains how this unfair imposition on the people of London might actually do more harm to the environment initially. An article explains that “A staggeringly rapid changeover will wipe out huge numbers of otherwise serviceable older cars and ‘young classics’ on London’s roads over the next three years”. On top of this Autocar echoes the warnings of experts explaining the hugely damaging economic impact of the ULEZ.

The speed of these unfair proposals means that the poorest in society will have to foot the bill. This comes at a time when housing and living costs in London have never been higher. 

ENFIELD TOWN HOSPITAL USE TO BECOME A FARCE

For residents of Enfield the problem is very serious. Many businesses will be hard hit due to supplier or commuting issues. Travelling from certain areas of Enfield into others will now cost money. Parents may now have to pay to take their children to school. Also the area the ULEZ will cover means that Enfieldians will have to pay to use their nearest hospital, the North Middlesex. Add to this the extortionate cost of parking fees at hospitals and the health of Enfield will surely suffer, rather than improve, as a result.

Residents may have to pay extortionate travel and parking fees to go to hospital appointments, visit family or attend hospital in emergency situations.

Enfield’s local councillors from both political parties have united in their opposition of this issue. The council released a statement through a spokesperson explaining the position of Enfield’s leadership. The statement, quoted from the Enfield Independent, said “Our specific concerns relate to making the zone boundary at the North Circular Road, which will in our view create confusion and lead to increased traffic on local roads... It will also lead to significant and detrimental anomalies, for example, North Middlesex University Hospital would sit within the new Inner London ULEZ for light vehicles... This means that residents from most of Enfield, including from some of the poorest parts, would be financially penalised for accessing healthcare if they cannot afford a new vehicle. This is simply not acceptable”.