Londoners with non-compliant petrol and diesel vehicles are being urged to submit their applications for the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) scrappage scheme before it closes tonight.
Transport for London (TfL) has announced that the deadline for applications is tonight (Saturday, September 7) at 11.59pm.
The scheme, which has been running since January 2023, offers financial support to those looking to scrap or retrofit their older, more polluting vehicles to meet Ulez standards.
Compliance levels for the Ulez have now reached 96 per cent, prompting TfL to wind down the scheme after it reported that application numbers have dropped sharply in recent weeks.
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Any applications submitted before the deadline are guaranteed to be processed and reviewed for eligibility, including those wishing to donate their vehicle to Ukraine.
Drivers who live in London with a non-compliant vehicle can claim up to £2,000 for a car and up to £7,000 for a van or minibus, while small businesses are also eligible for the latter amount.
Charities using minibuses can receive up to £9,000, while disabled Londoners with wheelchair-adapted vehicles are entitled to £10,000.
TfL has granted £69.5million for car and motorcycle applications, which totalled 36,008. A further 17,936 applications have been approved for vans and minibuses with TfL committing £116.6million.
TfL has also facilitated the donation of more than 330 vehicles to Ukraine after drivers were given the chance to donate their vehicles to help the war effort against Ukraine while still receiving the grant money.
The scheme's impact has been significant, with TfL observing a 53 per cent reduction in non-compliant vehicles driving on an average day over the six months after the August expansion compared to June 2023.
Commenting on the decision, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, said: "I am proud that the scrappage scheme - the biggest in the UK - has supported so many Londoners to switch to cleaner, greener vehicles."
Similarly, Christina Calderato, TfL's Director of Strategy, added: "The expanded Ulez has meant that more than five million people are now breathing cleaner air and from the Six Month Report we have seen its success in driving down air pollutant emissions and concentrations.
"We encourage anyone who still needs support to submit their application before September 8. Any remaining funds will then be considered for other proposed uses to further the Mayor's Transport Strategy."
Data from TfL found that harmful nitrogen dioxide emissions from cars and vans are estimated to be 13 per cent lower for cars than without the Ulez expansion - the equivalent of removing 200,000 cars from the road for one year.
Despite this, a recent report from Bromley Council found that NOx levels were higher in areas in October, November and December 2023 even after the Ulez scheme was expanded across outer London.
It stated that it could not "consider the impacts of the Ulez", with the data likely being the "result of seasonal weather and temperature variations".
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The report added: "It is however important to note that pollution levels in 2022 may have been artificially depressed by Covid-19 impacts on transportation patterns.
"What cannot be seen at present is an overall lowering in pollution levels that can be directly attributed to the implementation of Ulez in outer London."
Councillor Simon Fawthrop, who represents the Petts Wood and Knoll ward for the Conservatives, wrote on X: "Ulez expansion isn't working negligible AQ improvement, it's just a regressive and iniquitous tax grab."
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