By Jessica Frank-Keyes
London mayor Sadiq Khan has been criticised over plans to use ULEZ cameras for a possible future ‘pay-as-you-drive’ road user charging scheme.
Transport for London (TfL) is looking into replacing existing schemes such as the congestion charge and the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) with a “single, integrated road user” charge.
Just 300 of the 2,750 ULEZ cameras required for the expanded scheme have been installed, TfL said, with none in the four Tory-run boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon, which along with Surrey county council have asked the High Court to block the ULEZ rollout across Greater London.
In answer to a question from the London Assembly, Khan said the scheme would deploy “sophisticated technology” to make it “simple and fair” and ANPR cameras could be used.
Experts found London will need a new road user charging system by the end of the decade, alongside other measures, to achieve net zero carbon by 2030, the mayor said.
But no proposals have been developed, and Khan confirmed: “Any formal proposals which could be developed in the future would be subject to consultation.
“Technology to implement such a scheme in a complex city like London is some years from being ready.”
But Conservative assembly member Nick Rogers hit out at the move from City Hall.
“Sadiq Khan should be helping Londoners with the cost of living and breathing, not spending millions on a network of ULEZ cameras before his sham consultation had even started,” he said.
“It is clear that this camera network is part of a long term plan to impose road user charging, with TfL admitting it is already recruiting people to build a new system that will charge more.”
The ULEZ cameras controversy emerged just days after Khan made headlines after branding opponents to the expansion of the ULEZ scheme “far right”.
Protesters at a People’s Question Time (PQT) event on Thursday held banners emblazoned with swastikas and linking Khan to Davos – often used as a synonym for a conspiracy theory about global elites.
However, Khan received pushback for his remarks in the meeting, during which he suggested some protestors were “joining hands” with far-right demonstrators.
“Let’s call a spade a spade. Some of those outside are part of the far right. Some are Covid deniers, some are vaccine deniers and some are Tories,” he said.
Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands described Khan’s comments as “awful” and accused him of “smearing anti-ULEZ voices”.
While Labour MP Margaret Hodge said it was “totally unacceptable” and that “trying to gain votes on the back of racism is disgusting”.
A spokesperson for the mayor said a ‘pay-as-you-drive’ scheme was “one future option” but that the “technology required is still many years away”.
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