Starting from today, 8th of April, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) comes into force in central London. It will operate every day of the year, 24 hours a day, within the same area as the Congestion Charge zone.
All the drivers of vehicles which are not compliant will have to pay for entering the area each day, in addition to the congestion charge.
Petrol cars and vans that do not meet Euro 4 standards (vehicles pre-2006) and diesel cars and vans that do not meet Euro 6 standards (vehicles pre-2015) have to pay £12.50 per day.
Buses, coaches and lorries will need to meet or exceed the Euro 6 standards or pay £100 a day. The daily charge runs from midnight to midnight. So if the coach drives within the ULEZ area across two days, for example before midnight and after midnight, the driver will have to pay two daily charges.
The penalty for non-compliant coaches entering the ULEZ without paying the daily charge is £1,000 (reduced to £500 if paid within 14 days).
The ULEZ is just the first step of a bigger plan to tackle the capital’s toxic air. From 25 October 2021 the zone boundary will be extended to create a single larger one bounded by the North and South Circular Roads.
The daily charge will be in addition to the weekday Congestion Charge for people driving in central London. Vehicles using the North and South Circular Roads and not going into the ULEZ will not be charged.
Since TCA is always taking very seriously the quality of its product, the majority of the coaches operating our tours meet already the Euro 6 standards. We are monitoring the situation with our suppliers in order to avoid any inconvenience on the road.
The UK government’s plan to improve air quality by creating Clair Air Zones will affect other cities in 2020: Birmingham and Leeds have already confirmed that starting from January a charge will apply for all vehicles not meeting the Euro 6 standards. We will provide more details about the charges and the affected areas as soon as they are available.
Do not hesitate to contact our offices if you need more information about the ULEZ.