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The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced an expansion of the ULEZ scrappage scheme to all Londoners, enabling them to trade in non-compliant cars or motorcycles for a personal grant of up to £2,000.
From Monday, August 21, all London residents will be eligible for the grant to purchase compliant vehicles, including a switch to bikes, e-bikes and cargo bikes.
Businesses are also set to receive more financial help with the grant per van being raised from £5,000 to £7,000 and the number of vans or minibuses small businesses and sole traders can scrap will increase to three – meaning small businesses could get £21,000 for a greener fleet.
Minibus payments will also be increased, as will the payments for switching to an electric vehicle, meaning some businesses could secure even higher levels of support.
The Mayor plans to use £50 million of City Hall’s reserves to fund these changes – taking the total put into the scrappage fund to £160 million.
Alongside the scrappage scheme, a range of support offers are available with savings on hire and subscription services for bikes, e-bikes, cargo bikes and e-scooters.
Some of the retailers, brands and micromobility operators supporting the scheme are Brompton, Forest, Dott, Tier, Lime, Fully Charged, Velorution, Volt, Tern and The Electric Bike Shop.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said that although expanding the ULEZ was “a difficult decision”, he remained committed to seeing it through.
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He added: “I’m not prepared to step back, delay or water down vital green policies like ULEZ, which will not only save lives and protect children’s lungs by cleaning up our polluted air but help us to fight the climate crisis.
“I have continued to listen to the concerns of Londoners over recent months, and today I can announce a huge expansion to the scrappage scheme that means that all Londoners with non ULEZ-compliant cars will now be able to get financial support to switch to greener, less polluting vehicles.
“As we continue to build a greener and healthier London for everyone, I’m determined that no Londoner and no London business is left behind. We need to take people with us on the path to a sustainable future. We are ensuring that help is now available for everyone – and I urge Londoners to come and get it.”
