ULEZ expansion 2023: All of London included from next August

The zone will officially be extended to cover the capital from August 29 in a bid to boost air quality. 

The scheme, which operates every day apart from Christmas Day, is currently limited to the area within the North and South Circular roads but will soon cover all of Greater London. 

Transport for London (TfL) estimates that on an average day about 160,000 cars and 42,000 vans that use London’s roads would be liable for the £12.50 ULEZ fee.

Anyone travelling within the ULEZ in a vehicle that does not meet emissions standards will be liable to pay the charge, including people travelling in from Hertfordshire.

The expand map of the ULEZ across London (Image: TfL)

Transport officials have said they hope the scheme will encourage tens of thousands of those drivers to switch to vehicles that comply with the minimum emissions standards or use other modes of getting around such as walking, cycling or public transport.

ULEZ to be expanded to cover all of London in 2023

Whether or not a vehicle is liable for the charge depends on how much nitrogen dioxide it emits.

Diesel cars and vans can avoid the charge by being registered from 2016 whilst most petrol models registered from 2006 are exempt.

Drivers can check the status of their vehicle by entering its registration number on TfL’s website.

Speaking of the decision to expand the ULEZ, Mayor Khan said air pollution is making Londoners “sick from cradle to the grave” with illnesses such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.

READ MORE: Will I have to pay to drive in London's ULEZ?

“Expanding the Ulez London-wide has not been an easy decision," he said.

“The easy thing for me would have been to kick the can down the road.

“But in the end, public health comes before political expediency.”

The mayor also said the rising cost of living was a “key consideration” in his decision on whether to implement the proposal, which was featured in a public consultation between May and July.

This led him to introduce measures such as a £110 million scrappage scheme to support Londoners on lower incomes, disabled people, small businesses and charities to scrap or retrofit their non-compliant vehicles.

"The rising cost of living has been a key consideration for me. That’s why I’m announcing that we will be introducing our biggest scrappage scheme yet - £110m – to support Londoners on lower incomes, disabled Londoners, small businesses and charities to scrap or retrofit their non-compliant vehicles.

"All the money raised by ULEZ will be pumped back into funding local public transport and I’m pleased to announce today that we are planning the biggest ever expansion of the bus network in outer London."  

TfL has also confirmed that there will be a major expansion of bus services in outer London.