The Mayor is proposing that from 2020 only the cleanest vehicles would be able to drive into the congestion charge area without being made to pay a bit extra. It’s hoping to end the scandal of the estimated 7,000 Londoners who die prematurely every year from air pollution. There are three big problems with this. The small zone won’t stop pollution being over the legal limit in around half of the main roads in the rest of London.
The extra charge isn’t high enough to encourage many drivers with polluting vehicles to switch to cleaner ones. And finally, some of the more polluting vehicles, such as Euro 5 versions of the new Boris buses, are being exempted from the charge.
Myself and many others have said that this scheme needs to be stronger, stricter and spread wider. The most crucial point is that people living outside the Ultra Low Emission Zone should have the right to opt in right from the start, because we all know that air pollution doesn’t stop at the border of central London.
Jenny Jones AM
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
Green Party Group
London Assembly
- Send your letters to: letters@wimbledonguardian.co.uk
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