London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) is due to expand on Monday (October 25), yet a new survey has highlighted that many drivers from the city remain unaware of the changes.

Cars, motorcycles, specialist vehicles and minibuses will be required to meet the ULEZ emissions standards or pay a £12.50 daily charge in the zone, which extends to the North Circular Road (A406) and the South Circular Road (A205).

However, a survey of 2,000 London motorists by used car marketplace Motorway found that only 43 per cent of people were aware that the zone is due to expand on Monday.

In fact, though 73 per cent of people were aware that the zone includes central London, only 29 per cent knew that it stretched across large areas of south west London including Croydon and Kingston upon Thames.

News Shopper: ULEZ is expanded on Monday (PA)ULEZ is expanded on Monday (PA)

Just 33 per cent knew that the new zone includes areas of West London including Brent and Ealing, while 33 per cent were aware that areas in the north of the city would be covered.

The requirements for the ULEZ are that motorcycles, mopeds, motorised tricycles and quadricycles must meet Euro 3 emissions standards, while petrol cars, vans, minibuses and other specialist vehicles must meet Euro 4 standards.

Diesel cars, vans and minibuses and other specialist vehicles, meanwhile, must meet more stringent Euro 6 standards, with lorries, buses and coaches and other specialist heavy vehicles required to meet Euro VI standards.

As a result, one in seven plan to sell their vehicle within the next six months to avoid the price increases, with two-thirds of respondents likely to buy an electric vehicle, which doesn’t qualify for the ULEZ charge.

Tom Leathes, CEO at Motorway, said: “Despite having over three years to prepare for the ULEZ expansion, more than half of drivers in and around London are clearly still in the dark about this news and will get a nasty surprise when they cross the north or south circular on Monday.

"If the car you’re driving means you’ll be charged when you enter the ULEZ, then selling it may be an obvious choice to save money.

“With used car prices at an all-time high, now is a great time to sell – and even non-compliant cars are going for great prices as those who live outside of Clean Air Zones like the ULEZ won’t be feeling the pinch of these fuel charges.”

Christina Calderato, TfL’s Director of Transport Strategy and Policy, said: “We don’t believe this data gives a true picture; Our own survey shows 77 per cent of people have checked their vehicle.

"We have seen high levels of awareness of ULEZ with more than 80 per cent of vehicles in the zone now compliant, compared with 39 per cent when it was announced in 2017.

"More than 10 million drivers have used our vehicle checker to verify if their vehicle is compliant and we would urge everyone to follow their lead and to only use the TfL checker. 

“The high levels of compliance with the standards have been driven by an extensive communications campaign, which has included more than 1 million letters to people who have driven in the zone in vehicles that didn’t meet the standards, 600,000 letters to residents near the boundary, 4 million emails to customers and widespread publicity across all media, including broadcast, print and digital advertising. The expanded zone will see harmful nitrogen dioxide fall by 30 per cent across London and play a significant role in tacking the capital’s toxic air crisis.”

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