Toxic cars hit with new charge in London

LONDON: Drivers of older, more polluting vehicles now have to pay almost twice as much to drive in central London, the BBC said.

Mayor Sadiq Khan’s £10 T-Charge, which mainly applies to diesel and petrol vehicles registered before 2006, has come into force. It covers the same area as the existing congestion charge zone, bumping up the cost to £21.50 for those affected.

Opponents said the scheme would “disproportionately penalise London’s poorest drivers”.

The measure is the latest attempt by Khan to improve air quality in the capital and, according to the mayor’s office, will affect 34,000 motorists a month. Khan claimed that with the rollout of the new weekday “toxicity charge” — dubbed the “T-charge” — London had “the world’s toughest emission standard”.

The £10 levy is in addition to a daily £11.50 congestion fee, and follows an order by the European Union for Britain to cut air pollution.

Khan, who announced the charge in February, said he was “determined to take urgent action to help clean up London’s lethal air”.

“The shameful scale of the public health crisis London faces, with thousands of premature deaths caused by air pollution, must be addressed,” he said. — Agencies