Business proprietor livid as he spends £150k making fleet ULEZ compliant

A person residing in south London claims he has spent £150,000 on changing automobiles for his enterprise with a purpose to be ULEZ compliant.

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was controversially expanded to outer London final month, requiring drivers with non-environmentally pleasant vehicles to pay £12.50 a day to drive within the capital.

The scheme has attracted criticism from these residing extra rurally exterior of central London, with Mr Howell saying he’s completely towards the initiative.

Joe Howell, 63, lives in Keston in Bromley and runs a waste paper disposal firm, MyLondon experiences.

Mr Howell advised the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Everything’s now conforming but I’m still against ULEZ. I’ve had to buy a new van, new lorries. I applied for the scrappage scheme but got turned down. So it cost me a lot of money, about £150,000.”

He added: “Everyone’s doing it but I know a lot of people have given up. £2,000 or £7,000, whatever you want, for a van doesn’t cover it if you’ve got a fleet of 30 vans. A guy I know packed up, he had 31 vans and laid 275 people off, all because of ULEZ.”

The 63-year-old stated the dearth of public transport makes folks in Bromley extra reliant on vehicles.

He stated:“My son lives in Biggin Hill and they’ve got no station, no Underground, nothing and yet he’s got to pay the charge. He can’t get to work because the bus service is so poor down there.”

Bromley Council just lately challenged the ULEZ enlargement alongside Bexley, Harrow, Hillingdon and Surrey Councils. But the High Court dominated the scheme lawful in July however council chief Colin Smith stated the combat to have it reversed is “far from over”.

Cllr Smith stated: “I have been warning about the damage ULEZ will cause to businesses, jobs and vital care networks across outer London for over a year now, yet still the Mayor ploughs on, seemingly oblivious to the widespread pain and misery that he is causing to so many people.”

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London stated: “The Mayor could not stand by while around 4,000 Londoners are dying prematurely each year due to air pollution, children are growing up with stunted lungs and thousands of people in our city are developing life-changing illnesses, such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.”

The Mayor’s workplace additionally stated that 9 out of ten vehicles driving in outer London are already compliant.