London Mayor Sadiq Khan has clarified that the Ultra Low Emission Zone is "not about raising money", but rather designed to slash emissions across the capital.
It comes as new data shows that all Londoners are breathing cleaner air in the first year after the expansion of the Ulez to include all of Greater London.
Particle emissions (PM2.5) from vehicle exhausts are estimated to be 31 per cent lower in outer London in 2024 than they would have been without the Ulez expansion.
Nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx) from cars and vans are also 14 per cent lower, with the biggest reductions being seen in central London.
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Sadiq Khan has clarified that the Ulez is not about raising money for TfL
PA
In response to the new City Hall research, Sir Sadiq Khan has hit back at claims that the Ulez scheme is designed to raise money for Transport for London.
The Labour Mayor appeared at a nursery event in Barnet earlier today and declared that the Ulez "unequivocally works", despite backlash from drivers and residents.
He told the PA news agency: "This is about supporting Londoners to have cleaner air.
"No level of air pollution is safe and that’s why we have got to make more progress. Ulez is not about raising money for TfL."
Khan also noted that when the Ulez was first introduced, only 39 per cent of vehicles in London were compliant with emissions standards, but this has since grown to a staggering 97 per cent of vehicles.
The Mayor, who has been in the role since 2016, said when he was elected, evidence suggested that it would take 193 years to bring London's air pollution within legal limits.
Since then, Khan's "transformative" policies have helped the city slash pollution, with London "now close to achieving [legal limits] this year".
He noted that it was not an easy decision to expand the scheme in September 2023, but said drastic measures needed to be taken to prevent Londoners from being hampered with asthma, lung cancer and other health-related issues.
Although the Ulez scrappage scheme has now ended, it helped remove 15,232 older and more polluting vehicles from London's roads.
A further 54,700 applications were approved before the scheme closed in September 2024, with more than 400 vehicles donated for Ukrainian humanitarian and medical efforts following the invasion by Russia.
City Hall said an evaluation report about the scrappage scheme would be published in the near future regarding its effectiveness.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has consistently praised Sir Sadiq Khan for his efforts to increase air quality across the capital, commending his "commitment, leadership and vision to addressing the climate crisis".
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The Ulez was expanded in September 2023 to cover the whole of Greater London
PAShe added: "Reducing car traffic is one of our greatest opportunities to address the climate emergency.
"Under the leadership of Mayor Khan, London is showing us what safer, healthier, and greener communities look like, and the results of London's clean air zone speaks for itself."
