right now, London’s Ultra low emission zone is an irrelevance for most people. It occupies the same small, central area as the Congestion charge zone – think palaces, parks, museums and Mayfair.
Some owners of pre-Euro 6 diesel and pre-Euro 4 petrol automobiles unquestionably feel the £12.50 daily pinch the ULEZ brings, but for most people the part of London it covers is one into which you would drive only if you really had to.
London ULEZ: the Ultra low Emissions zone explained
That’s going to change on 25 October, though, when the ULEZ expands to encompass all areas inside the North and South circular roads. If you’re unfamiliar with London, that’s most of it; the expanded ULEZ will reach as far north as Edmonton and as far south as forest Hill, while bookending the capital from Barking in the east, to Chiswick in the west. This is a vast residential area, where just under four million people live.
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‘So what?’, you might reasonably ask if you don’t live in or check out London. Well, bear with me, as here’s some back-of-a-fag-packet maths that might change your mind.
There are around 44,000 automobiles listed available within 15 miles of Westminster (equivalent to the M25 area) on Autotrader right now, representing 10 per cent or so of the UK’s current used-car market. based on their age, around 6,700 of these automobiles are pre-Euro 6 diesels (roughly 2015 or earlier), and a further 2,300 or so are pre-Euro 4 petrols (roughly 2006 or earlier), making it safe to say that roughly 20 per cent of used automobiles attract the ULEZ fee.
