Transport for London to end ULEZ scrappage scheme in September
Transport for London (TfL) launched the scrappage scheme in 2023. Since then, it has paid 186 million pounds in grants to around 54,000 applicants from the greater London area. However, as compliance levels have reached 96 per cent and the number of applications for the scrappage scheme has thus dropped, the government agency has decided to let it run out.
“I am proud that the scrappage scheme – the biggest in the UK – has supported so many Londoners to switch to cleaner, greener vehicles,” says London Mayor Sadiq Khan. “ULEZ compliance has now reached more than 96 per cent, bringing cleaner air to millions of Londoners.”
This is already the second scrappage scheme by TfL. The first only covered residents from inner and central London, as that is where the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was first introduced. When the latter was expanded in January 2023 to cover all of London, so was the scrappage scheme. For the first round, TfL paid 61 million pounds in grants to some 15,000 applicants from the inner city.
But back to the scrappage scheme, which is now coming to an end: Londoners with low incomes who receive certain social security or disability benefits are eligible for up to 2,000 pounds when scrapping their non-ULEZ-compliant car or motorbike. People with disabilities who wish to scrap or retrofit a non-compliant wheelchair-accessible vehicle will be supported with £5,000.
Charities, sole traders and businesses with ten or fewer employees registered in London will receive £5,000 and £7,000 for scrapping a van or minibus and £5,000 for retrofitting vans or minibuses. If a purely electric vehicle replaces the scrapped van or minibus, these companies will receive 7,500 or 9,500 pounds (about 7,972 or 10,820 euros).
Just for comparison: Driving a non-compliant vehicle anywhere in the zone will incur a charge of 12.50 pounds per day.
The Ultra Low Emissions Zone was initially introduced in 2018 and expanded from its small starting area in June of that year. Drivers of vehicles that do not meet the emissions standards of this zone will have to pay to enter. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, London lifted some regulations again to allow supporters of “critical occupations” to move freely around the city for work, but these were reintroduced in May 2020. Further extensions of the zone took place in 2021 and March 2022.
On a side note, the vehicles turned in under the scrappage scheme can be given to Ukraine. More than 330 vehicles have been donated so far. Kahn says he will provide additional funding to ensure that “vehicles can continue to be donated to the country once the scrappage scheme closes.”
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