Richmond Council has claimed it is the only one in the capital to offer support with the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) directly to residents, after unveiling a new scheme.
Richmond Council’s ‘Good Move’ scheme will discount the cost of public transport, bikes and car sharing, including a £50 Oyster card.
The scheme will be offered to residents who are considering replacing their cars due to the ULEZ expanding on August 29.
The expansion will see drivers of the most polluting vehicles slapped with a £12.50 daily charge to drive around all London boroughs.
ULEZ currently covers areas in Barnes, Mortlake, East Sheen, North Richmond and Kew.
The support is available to residents of the borough and is in addition to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s £110 million scrappage scheme, which is designed to help eligible Londoners get rid of their non-compliant vehicles.
City Hall has said the expansion is part of Mr Khan’s approach to tackling the “challenges of toxic air pollution, the climate emergency and traffic congestion” in the capital.
Lib Dem councillor Alexander Ehmann, chair of Richmond Council’s transport and air quality committee, said the authority supports ULEZ covering the whole of Greater London. But he raised concerns about the speed of the expansion and the support available for residents.
The council previously called for the expansion to be delayed by up to a year and for an extension to the £110million scrappage scheme.
Councillor Ehmann said: “Addressing air quality is a top priority for Richmond upon Thames and this borough wants to build on the local cross-party consensus that the ULEZ should cover the entirety of Greater London.
“However, the speed at which the Mayor of London has sought to introduce the extension and the lack of financial support afforded to residents remains unacceptable.
“Richmond Council has called upon the Mayor to improve his offer to residents, but so far he has not heeded this call. That is why we have made the decision to intervene and support residents through our own new ‘Good Move’ scheme.”
He added: “Richmond is the only council in London to have provided ULEZ support direct to their residents. We hope that many residents will embrace the opportunity and make a ‘Good Move’.”
Three offers are available to residents, including a £50 pay-as-you-go Oyster card for use on the London Underground, Overground, buses and trains.
A one-year free membership and £50 driving credit for car-sharing clubs Enterprise or Zipcar is also part of the scheme, along with a three-month free trial with the Peddle My Wheels’ Try Before You Bike project and a discount if a bike is bought after the trial.
Residents will be able to choose one of the three options and funds will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
For applicants to be eligible, they must commit to scrapping their non-compliant vehicle within 12 months.
Applicants do not need to be eligible for the scrappage scheme to take advantage of the offers.
City Hall has previously said the ULEZ expansion “will strike the best balance between maximising the health and environmental benefits for Londoners while minimising the cost to drivers, especially as the cost of living increases”, adding around 85per cent of vehicles seen driving in outer London already meet the emissions standards.
It added delaying the expansion by even a year “puts thousands more Londoners at risk of having their lives cut short”.
