ULEZ comes to Heathrow on 29th August – you may need to pay £12.50 to drive to the airport

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• Lady London says:

  24 Aug24 August 20:44

  So for those working unsocial hours at Heathrow, such as needing to work very early or late shifts in low paid jobs with no public transport to get them to work, so needing to come by a modest, very probably old, car… are they now going to have to pay £12.50 out of their very low post-tax income per day?

  • VivAldi says:

    24 Aug24 August 21:06

    I would really like to know the numbers of such people? There is 24h public transport to Heathrow. I own a 2007 Nissan Micra, it costs me about £1000 a year to get it fixed so it can pass MOT, and it’s ULEZ compliant, we’re talking about pre 2005 cars here.. if you’re on a low income – having a non ULEZ car is terrible choice.
    You can cycle for free, you can share a ride, get a bus, walk or even buy my Micra 😀

    • Ken says:

      24 Aug24 August 21:28

      I do wonder how many Heathrow workers are affected. I saw one third mentioned which seems extraordinarily high for a place that does have 24 hour public transport albeit far from perfect.

      Running an old car is often the cheapest way of keeping a car.
      Even 16 year old cars can be maintained for a couple of hundred a year.
      If you are paying £1k every year to get your 2007 Micra though it’s MOT then it’s probably time to look for something else.

  • Ken says:

    24 Aug24 August 21:23

    Perhaps the only reasonable argument against the ULEZ.

    And ok, it’s easy for me to say but you can easily buy a compliant petrol car for less than £3k and less than £2k if you are able to look away from the M25 area (you get about £300 scrapping your car).

    Maybe a decent employer could offer interest free loans to those who may be charged £62.50 a week.

  • Nick says:

    24 Aug24 August 22:55

    There are actually plenty of public transport links to Heathrow timed to meet early (and late) shift starts, mainly public but also some private. They’ve been beefed up massively in the last year as well, supported by HAL – it started because they were desperate to attract staff a year ago and has extended recently to counteract the effects of ulez. For example, Slough and Langley now have 24 hour service, most TfL routes to the airport start at 3am, and both Crossrail and the tube are mirrored by staff shuttles before regular service starts. And they have a temporary western P+R for the remaining few who live in ‘difficult’ places while they arrange to replace their cars.

    I don’t often praise HAL, but the efforts they’ve made to try to help staff here have been pretty impressive.

  • Londonsteve says:

    26 Aug26 August 23:43

    The easiest and most equitable solution in the interim will be for HAL to establish a staff car park outside the ULEZ zone for affected employees and bus them in, no different from what they’re doing now from staff car parks that sit inside the zone. It’ll cost HAL some money to lease car park space somewhere new but conversely, those cars won’t now be parking in existing car parks so they might be able to shut one down and sell off the land that’ll be worth a lot more to HAL than land on the other side of the M25.

• Spaghetti Town says:

  24 Aug24 August 21:10

  The UK has been going downhill pretty rapidly since 2016 and things are continuing to get even more barmy.

  • MrMcBurger says:

    24 Aug24 August 21:15

    Long before 2016. Long before 2008 & long before 2000. You have been living in an illusion for 25 years

  • Rob says:

    24 Aug24 August 21:42

    Even The Telegraph felt obliged to run an article last week suggesting that all its readers under 50 should leave the UK because there simply isn’t any point sticking around.

    Bit unfortunate that partly due to The Telegraph’s actions most of them don’t have the legal right to move anywhere sensible, but still 🙂

    • Roy says:

      24 Aug24 August 21:44

      Hang on, the Telegraph wants everyone to become immigrants? Won’t that make them less than worthless in the Telegraph’s eyes?

      • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

        24 Aug24 August 22:17

        No. We’d be expats which is a whole different category in their eyes.

        • Londonsteve says:

          26 Aug26 August 19:47

          I make a point of referring to British immigrants in the context of those that have moved overseas. For that’s what they are and most are economically inactive trying to make their meagre pensions go further because the provisions are inadequate for many to afford a decent living standard in their home country. They say they move for the ‘weather’ and ‘lifestyle’, when if they’re being really honest, they’ve moved because many would be on the breadline if they stayed in the UK.

    • LittleNick says:

      24 Aug24 August 21:58

      Bit unfortunate that partly due to The Telegraph’s actions most of them don’t have the legal right to move anywhere sensible, but still 🙂
      Where is anywhere sensible?

      • Spaghetti Town says:

        24 Aug24 August 22:05

        I can’t think of any sensible place to go anymore. I would have said New Zealand at one point but that’s also going down hill from what i see and hear.

        • Roy says:

          24 Aug24 August 22:13

          Mars?

        • Spaghetti Town says:

          24 Aug24 August 22:13

          That said, despite recent problems, the UK isn’t that bad at all.

          Functioning institutions, the rule of law, relatively high standards of living, no extreme natural disasters, welfare state, a healthcare system (when it works) and nobody can carry automatic weapons around with them.

        • shanghaiguizi says:

          25 Aug25 August 04:50

          Malaysia. Cheap, safe, amazing weather, delicious food, friendly people. I got out the UK last year and the day I manage to give up my UK passport will be the happiest day of my life. Let the brexiters wallow in their muck.

          When I originally left the UK in 2004 I remember it being a positive, friendly, welcoming and safe place. When I returned in 2012 I felt it wasn’t the country I left. I felt it was full of racist, xenophobic, angry, bitter, old people. It only got worse through brexit.

          I’m ashamed to be British today. No skin off my back though. The UK’s loss is Malaysia’s gain. Now I get to watch from the outside as the wheels slowly fall off the proverbial bus.

    • Joe says:

      25 Aug25 August 08:18

      Not generally beyond the wit of man to get a visa.

      • Rob says:

        25 Aug25 August 09:09

        How many countries with a European standard of living will let you move there, permanently, with no job? Very few. We’re not talking about a 3-month tourist visa or a 12 month digital nomad visa, we’re talking about a country which will let you turn up with no job and give you permanent right to remain

        • Joe says:

          25 Aug25 August 09:50

          Unless you are retired I would say its pretty foolish to attempt a permanent move abroad without having a job lined up already – Brexit hasn’t changed that. I have family in Germany and am entitled to a residence permit there but I wouldn’t dream of moving there unless I had a good offer of employment first.

        • Rob says:

          25 Aug25 August 11:35

          You’ll have a far higher standard of living in Germany. It’s just a bit dull outside Berlin in my view, and as someone who has lived most of his life in 19th century buildings in 18/19th century areas I find the dominant post war architecture uninspiring. Apart from that you’re laughing.

          Jamie, who does a bit of work for us occasionally, just bought a massive place in a lovely French village for €160,000. His partner works remotely as a graphic designer and he pops back to the UK as necessary for £500/day freelance work.

        • Louie says:

          25 Aug25 August 10:00

          Australia. You need the skills they are looking for and to be under 45 generally but once you have your visa you don’t actually need to work either in your field of skills or at all if you choose.

        • LittleNick says:

          25 Aug25 August 11:35

          Why should a country give you a permanent right to remain without a job or for retirement?

        • Rob says:

          25 Aug25 August 12:38

          Before Brexit, quite a lot of them did 🙂

          I’m not saying you don’t work but there is a big difference between moving abroad because a new employer will pay to sponsor a visa (still possible) and moving abroad with nothing planned and looking for work / starting a business when there (now hard).

        • Gordon says:

          25 Aug25 August 12:18

          @Rob, Yes property is very affordable in France, I have been pondering for a while now at a property purchase, easy access from the uk by train car & ferry.

    • Joe says:

      25 Aug25 August 11:43

      The EU is not a decent alternative either. It suffers from the exact same malaise. Plus the number of jobs that don’t require high level language skills are low.

      Maybe Luxembourg, but nowhere else.

      • Joe says:

        25 Aug25 August 11:45

        Edit: living in Switzerland – near the German border, I really don’t agree with Rob’s comments. Germany is by and large no higher salary than the UK. Property is overvalued (compared to France and Switzerland – the latter is expensive but for good reason given tax rates).

        German tax and health insurance combined is an absolute killer. Germans have very little money in their pocket at the end of the month. Mean wealth levels are significantly below the UKs.

        • Stephan says:

          25 Aug25 August 18:59

          I think of you strip out London UK mean drops to pretty low levels. Whereas if you knock off the top city in Germany it doesn’t change the mean much so not sure mean means much.

        • Londonsteve says:

          26 Aug26 August 19:29

          German property overvalued? Have you seen the price of UK property recently?

          I’d move to Germany in a heartbeat, if I could. Moving from the UK to Germany is akin to moving from a developing country to a fully developed one.

        • Londonsteve says:

          26 Aug26 August 19:42

          Strip out London with its army of ultra highly paid professionals and median incomes adjusted for PPP in Germany knocks the socks off of the UK, even when expressed as a net figure. Not to mention the reward for paying relatively high levels of taxation and social welfare contributions is a healthcare system that works, roads that aren’t full of holes and a safety net that’s there for you when you need it. The UK taxes at around 80% of German levels but doesn’t offer 80% of the German package, more like 50%, if that. UK living standards for the median worker are increasingly resembling those of ex-Communist central Europe.

• MrMcBurger says:

  24 Aug24 August 21:14

  ULEZ is a london thing, so will leave that argument up to Londoners at the next Mayor election. I am concerned of it coming in for other cities (not personally affected as I drive an EV) – I think £12.50 is a lot, as those likely to have an old banger is probably the best they can afford. A youngster who just passed their test, need a car for work in the service idustry are having an hour of their wages 100% taxed just for turning up. So there is something not quite joined up in the thinking. Affected car owners could apply a single set route exemption for example. If they take a detour or take a different route then they pay the ULEZ. £12.50 per day = £72.50 for a 5 day week = £300 a month. Cant get a compliant car for that amount per month?

  • Roy says:

    24 Aug24 August 22:10

    Remember, the “old banger” will have to be close to 20 years old (if petrol) in order to be non-compliant…

    • Spaghetti Town says:

      24 Aug24 August 22:52

      what about the working class white van man?

      • Gordon says:

        25 Aug25 August 08:27

        Given that the phrase “White van man” is just a stereotype, I have had a “Grey” 2019 ford custom diesel from new, it is ULEZ compliant so it would not be financially difficult for a tradesperson to obtain a ULEZ compliant commercial vehicle!

  • Rich says:

    24 Aug24 August 23:49

    It’s not only a London thing though – plenty of cities have adopted it.

  • Kev I says:

    25 Aug25 August 01:27

    A car that most youngsters would buy like a 15-20 year old petrol fiesta or polo are exempt anyhow.There are plenty of sub 2K cars that are fine.

  • Chabuddy Geezy says:

    25 Aug25 August 09:02

    Gordon the article posted says Khan wants an extension of the scrappage scheme to the home counties, not ULEZ 🙃

  • vlcnc says:

    25 Aug25 August 09:43

    The discussions around this are so insane. Most people with aren’t even affected. You have to have a particularly old and polluting car. And yes I’m a Londoner.

    • T says:

      25 Aug25 August 10:11

      So most people aren’t effected? Hardly any cars would have to pay the fees, so where is the polluted air coming from then?

• NorthernLass says:

  24 Aug24 August 21:26

  I will admit that I just had to ask my OH what the difference is between ULEZ and the congestion charge! From the perspective of a tourist, it is nice having so much less traffic around when sightseeing, I really noticed this on my last couple of visits. Of course I would feel different if it was affecting my livelihood!

  • Roy says:

    24 Aug24 August 22:21

    I suspect there are other reasons for that. Very few people would ever drive in to the central London by choice – not least because there’s nowhere to park! Central London traffic is mainly taxis and commercial traffic…

• ChrisBCN says:

  24 Aug24 August 23:51

  Part of me is a little depressed reading some of the uninformed comments here, and the parroting of falsehoods from elsewhere. It amazes me that so many people get so angry and ranty, even though their comments make it clear they don’t actually have a clue what’s going on!

  And I’m also relieved, at how many sensible people have engaged back, not something that you see in other places 🙏

  • Tom says:

    25 Aug25 August 04:26

    This is fundamentally how social media discussion works, there is no filter so the shoutiest voices get heard and the moderate ones generally get drowned out. Everyone sits in an echo chamber and is pushed towards extreme views (both right and left).

    If you want to feel slightly better about the UK, have you seen the state of public discourse in the US right now? Just five minutes watching the Republican presidential debate is enough to make me borderline suicidal.

  • Tom B says:

    25 Aug25 August 08:39

    The issue with the ULEZ debate is there is an extremely loud and militant minority opposition. I get it, people don’t like having to change their behaviour or feel someone is taking away their right to something, especially when charges are involved, but from my experience a lot more people are supportive of measures to clean up the air in densely populated cities. It’s hard to mount a rational argument that puts driving entitlement and convenience for one person above public health and clean air for everyone. The issue is the quiet majority who stand to benefit from these measures don’t make much noise nor do they really campaign for it. Whether you like him or not, I suspect Khan will easily win the next mayoral election, Conservatives ripping up cycle lanes and abolishing LTNs may think these policies are vote-winners but they are surprisingly out of touch, especially as the general public become increasingly cognisant of environmental and health issues.

    • Londonsteve says:

      26 Aug26 August 19:35

      Khan will certainly win the next mayoral election, especially against the ‘no name’ Tory candidate. The Tories are whipping up anti-ULEZ sentiment in order to try to capture or retain outer London parliamentary seats at the next GE, that’s the motivation behind all this manufactured outrage. It’s particularly egregious because a) the ULEZ was the invention of a Tory mayor and Shapps forced the expansion on Khan when negotiating the bailout of TFL caused by the pandemic related decline in fare revenue, and b) electing or retaining a Tory MP will make precisely no difference to ULEZ. They might as well come out against establishing colonies on the moon; it’s not within their power or remit to do anything about it!

      • Darren says:

        27 Aug27 August 14:03

        Shapps wanted Khan to expand the congestion charging zone as far as the 2021 ULEZ expansion (not ULEZ), rightly or wrongly the current expansion is all Khan

  • vlcnc says:

    25 Aug25 August 09:45

    People are lazy and actually don’t find out what the facts are and what it actually means. They just get riled up and triggered by our awful right wing press in this anti-environment culture war and don’t question it.

  • Londonsteve says:

    26 Aug26 August 19:37

    Hear hear.

• Londonsteve says:

  26 Aug26 August 16:33

  I think ULEZ is great. I’m getting a 2k grant and whatever the scrapyard will pay me for a car that’s worth £800 on a good day. It gets smoky old 15 year old diesel SUVs and luxury cars being driven by those desirous of a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget off the road, as invariably they cannot afford to maintain them and drive them around with removed particulate filters and deleted EGR valves, or alternatively they just allow them to spew smoke as they can’t afford to repair them but still seek to use them to take the kids to school and drive to work. It’s also the end of the self employed delivery driver using a similarly poorly maintained old wreck with gerrymandered anti-pollution equipment driving around the suburbs with his foot welded to the floor in the quest of getting out yet another delivery before nightfall.

• NigelthePensioner says:

  28 Aug28 August 11:16

  Currently, it looks like you can get into the Sofitel at T5 or T5 drop off at LHR without triggering a camera, IF you come directly off the M25 as signed………..

  • Londonsteve says:

    28 Aug28 August 19:04

    This map is simply incorrect. I know of cameras round my way that are not marked on the map. There are way more cameras than the map suggests.

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