Transport for London is calling on any remaining Londoners who wish to use the ULEZ scrappage scheme to submit their applications ahead of its planned closure on 8 September.
The scheme for the expanded outer London area has now seen more than £186m committed to around 54,000 applicants. This was on top of the £61m for the central and inner London ULEZ, which led to more than 15,000 successful applications.
The scheme, which opened in January 2023, was expanded to cover all Londoners in the capital ahead of the launch of the London-wide ULEZ. It has been highly successful in supporting people to adapt to the world-leading clean air zone.
The vast majority of people with older, more polluting vehicles have already taken action and application numbers have dropped sharply in recent weeks. With compliance levels in London now at over 96 per cent, the scrappage scheme has been successful in achieving its objectives. We have seen a 53 per cent reduction in non-compliant vehicles driving on an average day over the six months of expansion compared to June 2023.
The expanded ULEZ has helped five million more Londoners to breathe cleaner air and is part of the Mayor and TfL’s wider programme to reduce air pollution and its associated health impacts. The London-wide ULEZ Six Month Report showed its effectiveness in driving down emissions and improving the quality of the capital’s air. Within the outer London ULEZ area, NOx emissions from cars and vans are estimated to be 13 and seven per cent lower than a scenario without the expansion. This is equivalent to removing 200,000 cars from the road for one year.
It is proposed that any funds remaining following the planned closure will be considered for other uses to further the Mayor’s Transport Strategy.
Following the planned winding down of the scheme, the Mayor is proposing to make a donation to British Ukrainian Aid to enable vehicles to continue being sent to Ukraine.
With application volumes now considerably lower after more than 18 months of operation, it is proposed that new applicants will have until 23:59 on 7 September to submit their applications. In addition, it is proposed that the grace period for minibuses used by not-for-profit organisations for community transport is extended from October 2025 to October 2027. Grace periods for community transport and disabled Londoners remain open until October 2027.
Any application made before the proposed deadline would be guaranteed to be processed and reviewed for eligibility. This includes people wishing to donate their vehicle to Ukraine.
In addition to the scrappage scheme, there are still a number of support options available, including:
- Grace periods from the ULEZ charge for disabled people and wheelchair accessible vehicles last until October 2027. A Grace period for minibuses used for community transport is currently until October 2025 but as part of the mitigation for ending the scrappage scheme, is now proposed to be extended to October 2027. More information available here >
- An NHS reimbursement scheme allows eligible patients with non-compliant vehicles to claim back the ULEZ charge if they are deemed too ill or vulnerable to travel via public transport and need to attend their hospital appointment using a non-compliant vehicle. More information available at: here >
- ULEZ Support Offers – great deals available from a range of Partners helping you with the transition to cleaner, greener forms of transport. These will remain open for a limited time following closure of the scrappage scheme. More information available at: here >
- Individuals may also be eligible for free or discounted travel on public transport from TfL. More information on this, and the types of discounts available, here >
- Further information on the other types of discounts and exemptions can be found here >
You can view the full media release here >
Please see the TfL website for more information.