Cleaning up London’s toxic air

As mentioned by others this is a tax on the poor and working class many of the people affected are having to hold down three jobs in order to make ends meet it’s a kick in the teeth from faceless public servants who are totally disconnected from the public.Whats more concerning to me is the disgustingly high noise levels of pollution we are now suffering within our cities from airplanes helicopters builders sirens motorcycles air conditioners restaurants nightclubs and pubs anyone living near a busy road is suffering intolerable levels of noise.This is having a devastating effect upon our children’s mental health and the mental health of the public.

I fail to understand why cars manufactured pre 2005 are liable for ULEZ when cars manufactured before 2016 require an MOT, which requires an emission test.

Who says that a car manufactured in 2001 has higher emmissions that one manufactured in 2009 for example.

This legislation is without logic and now requires me to dispose of my much loved 2001 car before this draconian measure is extended to everywhere within the M25.

Thank you very much Mr Mayor for forcing me to dispose of a perfectly good car and spend hard earned money on another one!

Nobody seems to mention the great polluters in the sky i.e the thousands of aeroplanes above London and the plans for a new runway at Heathrow.

Correct me if I am wrong but I think there is no tax on airplane fuel and the carbon footprint of a short haul flight per person is the equivalent of driving a mini to Australia!!!

I cannot hold myself back on making one other remark - 

Why would you make a super cycle highway from Stratford into the City ALONG the main congested motor/main road where you have all sorts of cars, motorbikes, buses, etc on there and then US, bikers, breathing in the highly toxic air on that road all the way to the City and back. What a genius idea that was for the sake of having a cycle highway!? Seriously was this ever genuinely thought through? 

After cycling that road for several months I got asthma now! Thank you very much, great investment of our taxes...

No no Mr Mayor. Can’t you see that you are crushing the spirit of hard working Londoners. It is the poorest that can not afford to buy new cars, your high transport charges on buses, trains and tubes. At the next election you will be out on your ear

I would be interested to know how these vehicles (old, more polluting ones) are identified, to make them pay this charge? This scheme should be ruled out not just for zone 1 in my opinion, but wider to Zone 2. I live in East London Zone 2, and the air over here is so bad, i am disgusted to breath... it has gotten that bad! In Germany for instance the state has just banned diesel-cars now driving into the 'city' of Stuttgart! London is not doing enough, we continue to breath toxic air and our children are growing to become sick! 

I think we need to look at voting for another Mayor of London next time, who can actually tackle real issues for Londoners such as economics, housing, knife crime and red tape bureaucy.

The T-charge is just another revenue fund raiser and vanity project, which will reduce economic activities as the people who are making this decision want to walk and cycle to work more!!!

I noticed the T-charge study and findings were conducted by an external consultancy and project managed by non Londoners (so was this study always biased against real Londoners???).

It's easy to use facts and statistics to build a case for reducing pollution, but ignore important facts such as costs to businesses, costs to commuters who drive within the north / south circular (we're not talking about Kensington and Chelsea residents who can afford to fly into City airport and get the tube home), cost to replace vehicles to be compliant, etc.

Contrary to the Mayor of London and City Hall decision makers, people do need to drive in and around London, are we really expecting elderly people or parents with children to get the bus or tube, if they live within the north or south circular as the area being covered is not just central London ? How long would it take to get from Wembley to Edmonton via public transport at 10pm at night, with two young children? Policy decision making at the finest without any common sense ...

This charge is an unfair tax, especially as people were urged by the previous Labour government to buy diesel cars because they were less polluting in Co2 than petrol cars! With no scrappage scheme being offered by the current government or the Mayor of London, it means that selling diesel vehicles in order to use the funds for a newer, less polluting car is going to be virtually impossible; many of us can't afford to buy another car without those funds. Being forced to pay £21.50 for the "pleasure" of having to drive in London during the day is a disgrace. Thank heavens that some of us are lucky enough to only have to make necessary car journeys at the weekends.

I see the T-charge as little more than a headline grabbing gimmick. Studies have shown it will have negligible impacts on air quality
This will hit the poor the hardest who ae more likely to have older cars and cannot afford expensive hybrids.

I am disabled and have quite an old van which I could not replace like for like. As I live on the South Coast, why is it cheaper for me to have day out shopping in France and take money out of the Country. I have not seen my friend also disable as the nearest underground station is not wheelchair friendly. As a result I have not seen my friend for a number of years. Thanks London I just wonder the ratio of cars to plane fuel!

Yes, we all want to live healthy lives and have clean air. So let’s look in to this:

• Private cars of All Ages Combined produce only around 8% of "car" pollution in London. Most of the pollution comes from Buses, Construction Vehicles and Black Cabs.
• Also the amount of produced pollution depends on the engine size more so than on the age. Sure that “young” Ferrari is producing more fumes than older small 1.1 MOT-ed engine car.
• To keep the air clean – WE HAVE an MOT, don’t we. The question is – what it is to do with the age. If the car passes MOT – it’s fine. No matter the age!
• Many people drive because they like driving and they prefer private vehicle to public for various reasons. Give them the thrill – make at least Segway road legal transport like other countries do. This is good fun, quick and electric. That will be good use of bicycle lanes – they are currently under used. They(bicycle lanes) also are the reason for increased pollution as they are dramatically reducing the “car space” on roads together with bus lanes.
• Busses produce massive amount of pollution – make them electric first – this is a good investment. And also Black Cabs. Convert them to electric.
• All in all this decision reduces the issue on a micro minute level allowing the real polluters “running around” London for free steering away public’s mind from the reality of the situation.
• It is also NOT true to the facts decision – as I mentioned that NOT the AGE but the Sufficient Car Maintenance and the Type of car and the Engine Size are really want to be addressed.

So if we want clear air in London – let’s do it. Let’s do it in a way that really works, rather than in a way which simply becomes an extra selective tax.

Both Labour Mayors (Livingston and Khan) solve problems using pricing that discriminate against low income individuals and businesses. This is a rationing strategy rather than a solution. WTHIGO?

Is pollution multifaceted even though street level pollution is assumed to be traffic. Factors?
1. Use of polluting technologies. Retrofit or replacement?
2. Traffic management systems? Are vehicles in jams more polluting? Stop-start driving more polluting?
3. Availability of convenient and low cost public transport.
4. Telecommuting?
5. Economic organisation of Britain - i.e. concentrating in the south west rather than fully utilising the whole country?
6. School run - children get public transport or a 'school' bus.
7. Other contributions? (another commenter - wood burning)
8. Alternate vehicles e.g. Motorcycles (moire advanced enclosed cockpit with crash cages).
9. Car driving as status demo.
10. Culture lacking social/collective responsibility. (4 decades of cultivated selfishness).

Additionally, another problem - discrimination against vintage vehicles e.g. Routemaster busses.