London's new £10 T-charge from TfL hailed by Sadiq Khan as 'action now' on deadly pollution, but motorists angry at lack of signs

Sadiq Khan today hailed the T-charge as “action now” to tackle London’s toxic air scandal but risked angering motorists by not putting up signs telling them of the new levy.

Thousands of motorists driving older diesel and petrol models were being landed with the £10-a-day charge to drive into central London from 7am today.

It also applies to older vans, lorries, buses and coaches.

The T-charge, which applies on weekdays up to 6pm, covers the Congestion Charge area.

Up to 34,000 motorists could be liable to pay it a month, according to City Hall which is seeking to make London a world leader in cutting harmful nitrogen dioxide levels, which breach EU legal limits, as well as tiny particulate pollution.

However, Mr Khan could annoy some motorists as no signs have been put up telling motorists they are entering the T-charge zone.

Combined with the Congestion Charge, it means that drivers of the most polluting vehicles will have to pay £21.50-a-day to enter central London – or risk a fine of £130 which is cut to £65 if paid within 14 days.

Transport chiefs, though, believe publicity about the T-charge means the public already know about it.

Leon Daniels, Transport for London’s managing director of Surface Transport, said: “TfL has communicated with some 200,000 drivers who have entered the Congestion Charge zone in the last 12 months to let them know that the T-charge is coming.

“There has been a huge campaign to make drivers aware of the T-charge, including a series of ads in national and local papers with a combined circulation of more than five million, 7,000 posters, and some 2,000 radio ads across ten stations. “We have sent more than 500,000 emails, and made extensive use of social media.”

Since it was announced last year, the number of the dirtiest vehicles driving into central London has fallen, though part of this will be due to the normal trend in people upgrading their cars.

City Hall estimates that around 6,500 vehicles are expected to be affected every weekday by the charge but that for around 40 per cent of them the owner will upgrade to a cleaner vehicle exempt from the levy and around ten per cent will switch to alternatives like public transport.

Motorists: 'I've not seen a sign for it anywhere'

Drivers today said they were shocked at the introduction of the T-charge and claimed it had been brought in with little warning.

Motorists in Westminster said they had not seen signs informing them of the charge ahead of its launch this morning.

IT recruiter Andrew Coleman, 37, from Epsom, Surrey, said: “This is the first I have heard of the congestion charge changing.

“Until two months ago I drove a VW Golf that was 14 years old, so I would’ve been charged whenever I drove through the centre.

“I can understand why it’s been brought in. It’s better for the air.

“But I haven’t seen a sign for it anywhere… it’s a stealthy way to bring it in. Unless you’re regularly in central London you’d never know anything has changed.”

Business owner Joe Shabani, 37, who lives and works within the zone, said the charge penalised poorer drivers.

He said: “My neighbour has no money to pay for a newer car. She’s got a Nissan and she is going to have to sell it because she can’t afford £10 a day.”

He added that he hasn’t “seen a single sign about [the congestion charge] and the first I heard was last night. None of the old signs have been changed.

“It affects my business as I run two vehicles but I will have to pay it.

“I’m angry and feel this was brought in through the backdoor.”

Property developer Martin Skinner, 37, who parked his McLaren Spider supercar in Page Street this morning, said: “I didn’t know anything about it.

“But anything that reduces traffic I’m in favour of. Even if it means I pay more money.

“It’s impossible to drive around London and I would happily pay to change that.

“I drive into central London almost every day, I could probably get to work faster on the bus but I like driving.”

As the T-charge was going live, the Mayor said: “I need Londoners to work with me so we can phase out the use of the dirtiest polluting vehicles from our roads. I want action now.”

Writing in The Standard, he also chided the Government for not doing more to tackle toxic air, including by dragging its feet over a diesel scrappage scheme.

“Theresa May could and should have acted as the scale of the public health scandal has become ever more clear,” he said.

“The Government’s failure to act while people in London die from toxic air is nothing short of negligent.”

The T-Charge affects vehicles that do not meet the Euro 4 standards for both nitrogen oxides and particulate pollution.

Pre-Euro 4 models are typically those registered before 2006, about 12 years old, but Transport for London advises motorists with a car registered before 2008 to check if it will be charged.

Critics of the T-charge say that it is penalising motorists while doing little to clean up the capital’s air, with nitrogen oxide levels only expected to fall by around two per cent.

However, it is the forerunner to the Ultra Low Emission Zone, which has tighter restrictions, being introduced in 2019 and set to be later expanded to the North and South Circular roads.

Motoring group the AA is concerned that drivers on low incomes will be hit hardest by the T-charge but stopped short of opposing the levy.

AA president Edmund King said: “Eight out of ten London drivers say that improving air quality is important to them, but it is crucial to get the balance right.

“There is no silver bullet in tackling air quality, but better targeting is essential.”

Monthly diesel sales in London are now down by around a third as more and more people have become aware of the impact of toxic air, which is blamed for a death toll of around 9,000-a-year in London alone.

Professor Jonathan Grigg and Professor Chris Griffiths, of Queen Mary University of London, and founding members of the Doctors against Diesel campaign group, welcomed the T-charge as a “first step” to cleaning up air pollution.

But they stressed: “The majority of London’s vulnerable populations, such as young children, live outside the Congestion Charging Zone. What must follow, as a matter of urgency, is London-wide charging of the most polluting vehicles, especially the current toxic diesel fleet which disproportionately pollutes our air and damages health.”

Simon Birkett, director of Clean Air in London, said: “This is an important step on the path to ban diesel vehicles in London.

“But the Mayor needs to do a lot more to deliver on his manifesto pledge to restore London’s air quality to legal and safe levels.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “We have put in place a £3 billion plan to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions and we will end the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040.”

To help motorists TfL have a free online vehicle checker available on their website www.tfl.gov.uk/t-charge.