Mayor accelerates bold action to remove dirty vehicles from London
As part of the Mayor of London’s bold action to tackle dirty air across the capital, Sadiq Khan has announced a series of measures that will accelerate the move to cleaner vehicles across London: he will double payments for his van scrappage scheme to £7,000, with £9,500 also now available to those switching to electric vans. The increased funding will enable more van owners to switch to cleaner vehicles, while helping businesses prepare for the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) up to the north and south circular next year, and the tightening of the London-wide Low Emission Zone standards this October.
The Mayor has today also announced that he is broadening the eligibility for the van scrappage scheme so that more businesses can benefit. Previously firms with fewer than 10 employees, defined as micro businesses, were eligible. Now small businesses, those with 50 or fewer employees, are also included.
Alongside helping van owners, the Mayor is taking action later this year to support small businesses operating heavy vehicles. Heavy vehicles, which include HGVs, coaches and buses that are not part of the TfL network, make up more than a third of the harmful pollution from transport. To help clean up the heavy vehicle fleet, the van scrappage scheme will open to small businesses operating heavy vehicles later this year. TfL is finalising the details of the scheme, but it is expected that it will be in the form of a grant of around £15,000 for each polluting heavy vehicle, up to a maximum of three vehicles.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Our dirty air is a national health crisis that contributes to thousands of premature deaths ever year. While bold action such as our Ultra Low Emission Zone is starting to make a difference in London, I want to ensure there is help for businesses making the switch to cleaner greener vehicles – whether you rely on a van, lorry or coach.
“While we’re doing all we can in the capital, we now need the Government to match our levels of ambition and fund a national scrappage scheme that supports all those small businesses who want to do the right thing and switch to cleaner vehicles across the UK.”
Natalie Chapman, FTA’s Head of South of England and Urban Policy, said: “FTA strongly welcomes the Mayor’s decision to provide additional financial support for businesses preparing for the tightening of the London-wide Low Emission Zone standards and upcoming expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone.
“Businesses within the logistics sector are determined to play their part in improving London’s air quality, but many simply do not have the resources to replace their existing fleets to meet the new, required emission standards; this scheme will help to ease the heavy financial burden. In addition to doubling payments for van scrappage and expanding the criteria for support, we are pleased to see TfL is developing a funding programme for HGVs; we look forward to seeing the details of this emerge in the coming months.”
Notes
- Drivers of vans or minibuses scrapping their vehicle for an electric alternative will be eligible for a £9,500 payment.
- The changes to the van scrappage scheme also mean drivers will have to had to have made fewer trips into the Congestion Charging Zone to qualify. Drivers will now have to have made at least 26 trips into the Congestion Charge Zone in the six months prior to the launch of the scheme. Previously drivers had to make at least 52 trips.
Under the old criteria, options included:
- A payment of £3,500 to scrap a non-compliant van or minibus which could be used to:
- purchase a newer ULEZ compliant Euro 6 vehicle;
- access third party offers from rental and sharing services across London, including Zipcar, Northgate Hire, Enterprise and Europcar;
- support ongoing business operations
- A payment of £6,000 to scrap a non-compliant van or minibus and help with running costs of a new electric vehicle.
