Cleaning up London’s toxic air
Closed
672 Londoners have responded | 25/10/2021 - 19/07/2023
Discussions
£10 T-Charge launched in central London
From today, 23 October 2017, a £10 Toxicity Charge ('T-Charge') applies to the older, more polluting vehicles in central London.
The discussion ran from 23 October 2017 - 23 January 2018
Closed
Community guidelines
Anything you publish will appear almost right away. We want anyone to feel welcome to get involved in a constructive way. Our community guidelines will help us all do this.
Read our guidelines
Want to join our next discussion?
New here? Join Talk London, City Hall's online community where you can have your say on London's biggest issues.
Join Talk LondonAlready have an account?
Log into your accountAnonymous - account deleted
Community Member 7 years agoNobody has the balls to go after the oil companies. Just produce cleaner fuel rather penalising the ones that cannot afford to replace their cars. I watched two new big lorries in Central London today just delivering one small package each...
Show full commentNobody has the balls to go after the oil companies. Just produce cleaner fuel rather penalising the ones that cannot afford to replace their cars. I watched two new big lorries in Central London today just delivering one small package each not more than 3 sq.ft. Progress? I do not think so.
Show less of commentAnonymous - account deleted
Community Member 7 years agoThe lorries were probably running industrial diesel, not city diesel which is a cleaner fuel than the heavy machinery that causes the worst emissions
Show full commentThe lorries were probably running industrial diesel, not city diesel which is a cleaner fuel than the heavy machinery that causes the worst emissions
Show less of commentAnonymous - account deleted
Community Member 7 years agoI agree that delivery vans are contributing to pollution and congestion. That is why I oppose competition to the Royal Mail, which delivers all but the largest of parcels ON FOOT. Home delivery is very important to the elderly and...
Show full commentI agree that delivery vans are contributing to pollution and congestion. That is why I oppose competition to the Royal Mail, which delivers all but the largest of parcels ON FOOT. Home delivery is very important to the elderly and disabled, but IN BULK: three weeks' shopping, for example.
Show less of commentwelshn0
Community Member 7 years agoLabour Tax on the poor, else why not tax the highest polluting vehicles. i.e. A shiny new 7.L 4x4 will create a lot more pollution than some ten year old 1.3L small car.
Show full commentLabour Tax on the poor, else why not tax the highest polluting vehicles. i.e. A shiny new 7.L 4x4 will create a lot more pollution than some ten year old 1.3L small car.
Show less of commentDodgenut
Community Member 7 years agoI agree with this comment. I intend to keep my 24 year old 999cc Fiat Uno because it has extremely low emissions as shown by the annual MoT printout. I am being taxed, but all around me I see recently registered huge 4 or more litre diesel...
Show full commentI agree with this comment. I intend to keep my 24 year old 999cc Fiat Uno because it has extremely low emissions as shown by the annual MoT printout. I am being taxed, but all around me I see recently registered huge 4 or more litre diesel 4x4s to which the charge does not apply. I agree with taxing pollution but it should relate to engine size, otherwise it is a tax on the poor to help the motor industry, disguised as an anti-pollution measure. A vastly greater amount of pollution is caused to the planet by the needless recycling of only partly used cars and the re-manufacture of motor vehicles that this very un-scientifically designed policy requires. As an active cyclist, I have always been aware of the danger from PM 10s produced by diesels and was somewhat horrified when the earlier scrappage scheme was introduced by HM government. That got rid of small low capacity petrol cars and created the problem that Sadiq Khan is failing to solve in a rather clumsy and inequitable way.
Show less of commentjohn_clark
Community Member 7 years agoI agree in principle with all this, but will be affected quite badly.
Show full commentWe live a few hundred yards outside the S Circular Road (the ULEZ boundary) and so will probably find that people who want to avoid the ULEZ will come by us.
We also...
I agree in principle with all this, but will be affected quite badly.
Show less of commentWe live a few hundred yards outside the S Circular Road (the ULEZ boundary) and so will probably find that people who want to avoid the ULEZ will come by us.
We also have a 2013 VW camper which is Euro 5, so will not be able to go north via London, which is bad luck for people living by the A2, the A20 etc..
No-one seems to be putting any pressure on diesel manufacturers to offer conversion to petrol, which might be more expensive to run but will be a lot cheaper than buying a new camper (£30-50k say). This would be much greener than scrapping a 4 year old vehicle and replacing it with a new (compliant) one.
I see the GLA has commissioned pollutants in use measurement; this is better than the current system and may well show that some Euro 6 compliant vehicles are amongst the worst offenders. It also makes a difference if the vehicle is properly serviced.
Around town people should either use public transport, or bicycles, or walk, or drive sub 40 mph battery powered vehicles with lower crash standards and thus lower weight.
Anonymous - account deleted
Community Member 7 years agoThe worst pollution is from construction machines. The companies that run them make huge profits because of property prices. The other main use of such machines is in road building, maintenance and repair and utilities, all of which end up...
Show full commentThe worst pollution is from construction machines. The companies that run them make huge profits because of property prices. The other main use of such machines is in road building, maintenance and repair and utilities, all of which end up costing the public and will have no deterrent effect whatsoever on using industrial diesel
Show less of commentAnonymous - account deleted
Community Member 7 years agoNot forgetting as I have mentioned below, that the most fuel a car/van will every use is in its production. Though I know they are not produced in London, that polution is still happening somewhere.
Show full commentNot forgetting as I have mentioned below, that the most fuel a car/van will every use is in its production. Though I know they are not produced in London, that polution is still happening somewhere.
Show less of commentjoansgibson
Community Member 7 years agoOur car is an older one and would be hit with the £10 toxicity charge. However we hardly drive it (2000 miles a year on average) and do not go into the congestion zone using our car so we are infact very low polluters.
Show full commentHaving said that the...
Our car is an older one and would be hit with the £10 toxicity charge. However we hardly drive it (2000 miles a year on average) and do not go into the congestion zone using our car so we are infact very low polluters.
Show less of commentHaving said that the vast majority of cars on the road in London are cabs and late at night there are traffic jams (raising pollution) which 99% consist of cabs. Time to get folks out of cabs and onto public transport. This can be done by running more trains etc. during the evening and night. The tube after 7pm is packed and really unpleasant. This is the time the tubes are less frequent - run more of them and more trains.
Leela
Community Member 7 years agoAgree with you
Anonymous - account deleted
Community Member 7 years agoI entirely agree with you about this. It is why I support the Mayor's decision to ban Uber. We have 24-hour buses and a 24-hour tube at weekends. I would like to see the poor using our public transport, rather than personal taxis and...
Show full commentI entirely agree with you about this. It is why I support the Mayor's decision to ban Uber. We have 24-hour buses and a 24-hour tube at weekends. I would like to see the poor using our public transport, rather than personal taxis and minicabs. (Please note I have used the night bus in West London, so I know that it is reliable and not too unsafe. I have also used the District Line at midnight to travel from Central London to South West London, followed by the bus.)
Show less of commentclark
Community Member 7 years agoAn excellent idea to single out the worst polluters. Let's get rid of the diesels next. I am sure any parents claiming to be worried about theri children's health can't fail to be supportive of this charge
The Cyclist
Community Member 7 years agoSo it's ok to NOT charge the worst which is black cabs? How so?
Anonymous - account deleted
Community Member 7 years agoThe worst polluters are construction machines and trucks that use industrial diesel oil which are worlds apart from a modern diesel car with stringent standards for CO2, NO2 and particulates, running on city diesel
William Everett
Community Member 7 years agoThis is an iniquitous tax on the poor.
clark
Community Member 7 years agoDon't poor people have lungs as well?
gaberosser
Community Member 7 years agoThat's a very strange interpretation of this initiative. You must have more information about it than the rest of us? To me, it sounds like a very direct attempt to deal with the extremely poor air quality in central London.