THE Mayor of London has launched a van scrappage scheme worth £23m.
The scrappage scheme will be introduced ahead of the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) – this starts April 08, 2019.
Under the London ULEZ, non compliant vans will be charged £12.50 to enter the zone every day, 365 days a year.
Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, said that the funding would be available to scrap non compliant which are driven into the ULEZ zone regularly. He said the £23m fund would help thousands of micro-business owners update their vehicles.
The Mayor has asked City Hall officials and TfL to work out how the money could be spent most effectively. Further details of the van scrappage scheme would be unveiled in 2019.
Khan said:
“Air pollution is a national health crisis that is stunting the lung development of our children and leading to thousands of premature deaths. To truly get a grip on our lethal air we need to take bold action to rid our city of the most polluting vehicles.
“It’s not good enough to do nothing, and I’m determined to take real action which is why I’ve already delivered the Toxicity Charge in central London for the oldest polluting vehicles, cleaned up our bus fleet, and brought forward the Ultra Low Emission Zone. My scrappage scheme is my next step in tackling pollution.
As well as announcing the van scrappage scheme, Khan challenged the government to match-fund his own scheme to assist more Londoners swap to less polluting vehicles.
The BVRLA supported the Mayor’s move. Chief Executive Gerry Keaney said:
“It is great that the Mayor is providing extra financial support for upgrading vans, which are an essential tool for so many SMEs operating in London.
“More and more firms are choosing to lease because it provides an affordable, fixed cost way of accessing the latest low-emission vehicles. The BVRLA and its members look forward to working with the GLA on its plans to remove older, more polluting vans from London’s roads.
“Vehicle rental and car clubs will also play a vital role in helping businesses and individuals make the shift to cleaner, ULEZ-compliant motoring from April 2019.”