Despite a High Court appeal rejection and continued fightback from councils both inside and outside the Greater London area, the ULEZ expansion has come into effect today.

Now, anyone driving within any of the London boroughs with a non-compliant car will have to pay a daily charge of £12.50. Here is everything you need to know about the controversial scheme.

What is ULEZ, and why is it so controversial?

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is a scheme in London that requires vehicles with high emissions driving within the zone pay a daily charge of £12.50.

The scheme operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year except Christmas Day.

Plans for the scheme were first laid out by then-mayor Boris Johnson and taken forward by his successor, Sadiq Khan.

The ULEZ has been operating since 2019 but at first, only covered the same area of Central London as the Congestion Charge.

While it was previously in place for all areas within the North and South Circular Roads in the capital, from today (August 29) it will include anywhere within the capital’s boroughs, including Bexley and Bromley.

Any motorist who fails to pay the daily charge when necessary may be issued with a Penalty Charge Notice of £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.

Sadiq Khan says the move to expand the scheme to all of London’s boroughs was “one of the toughest decisions" he'd taken but was necessary to address the capital's dirty air.

More than four in every five vehicles already meet the emission standards but concerns have been raised that the expansion will hit people on lower incomes harder as they are unable to replace older cars.

Dartford council leader Jeremy Kite told KentOnline in January: “It's a terribly, terribly, unfair thing. They might say it only affects a small proportion of drivers but they are the ones least able to afford it.”

The expansion has been met with criticism from councils within Greater London and the surrounding counties, but the London Mayor has defended the decision, which he says will mean “five million more people will be able to breathe cleaner air and live healthier lives”.

Kent County Council refused to allow the relevant infrastructure for the project to be installed in the county, saying it will stand by this decision “for as long as there is no mitigation to minimise the impact of the expansion of the scheme on Kent residents”.

Earlier this month, protestors in Orpington and Bromley carried out multiple days of demonstrations, bringing traffic to a standstill at the edge of London to fight against the plans.

In mid-August police said nearly 300 crimes had been recorded against ULEZ cameras, and a 42-year-old man from Sidcup was charged in May with damaging ULEZ cameras after a police investigation into vandalism was launched.

A High Court challenge against the expansion, by the outer London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon, along with Surrey County Council, was launched in February but was lost last month.

Is my vehicle affected?

The best way to find out if your vehicle is ULEZ-compliant is to check on the Transport for London (TfL) website, which you can do by clicking here.

The scheme is based on the declared emissions of a vehicle rather than its age.

For petrol cars, the standard is Euro 4; for diesel cars, van, minibuses and other specialist vehicles, the standard is Euro 6, and for motorbikes and mopeds the standard is Euro 3.

Generally speaking, petrol cars first registered with the DVLA after 2005 often meet the standard, although cars which meet the standards have been available since 2001.

Compliant diesel cars are generally ones which were first registered after September 2015.

For motorbikes, mopeds and similar vehicles, the standard is generally met by those registered after 2007.

If you’re not sure about your motorbike’s emissions you can contact your vehicle’s manufacturer, from whom TfL will accept supporting evidence.

You can also use a test centre approved by TfL to measure your motorbike’s nitric oxide emissions, and if successful, they will contact TfL with the results.

Some vehicles, such as lorries, vans, buses and coaches do not need to pay the ULEZ charge, and you can visit the TfL website to find out if this applies to you.

Where has the Ultra Low Emission Zone expanded to?

The zone is enforced within all London boroughs up to their borders with surrounding counties, which has sparked concern among residents living on the Dartford-Bexley border.

Many streets in Dartford straddle the border and for some residents, entering the ULEZ will be “unavoidable”.

Residents in Bowmans Road face the choice of turning left onto Dartford Heath, or right into Crayford in Bexley.

Last year, people living on the road said the ULEZ expansion would cost them £12.50 just to drive to their local Sainsbury’s a mile away in Crayford.

Edward Hawkes said: “It is stopping me from going into London where I would have gone just to pick something up.

“We are not a London borough, yet Sadiq Khan wants us to pay for the ULEZ. It is another tax London is trying to give everyone."

Dartford residents have said they felt “exiled” by the decision to expand the zone.

One woman, who did not want to be named, said she and her husband both had elderly mums living in Bexley who they visited weekly, as well as attending church and doing their weekly shop in the London borough, where her husband also worked.

She added: “We are being exiled from where our family lives. We are quite scared because this will change our lives totally as practically all our family on both sides live in Bexley.”

Why has it been extended?

A TfL spokesman said last year: “A larger ULEZ is vital for those living in the capital, especially those in outer London where air pollution has not fallen as fast as in central and inner London.

"It will also benefit those living outside it. In 2019, toxic air contributed to more than 4,000 premature deaths in the capital, with the greatest number in outer London, and we urgently need to address this issue.”

Christina Calderato, TfL’s director of transport strategy and policy, said: “London has made significant progress over the last six years in improving air quality, but it sadly remains the case that thousands of Londoners are dying prematurely each year as a result of toxic pollution.

“Nine in ten cars seen driving on an average day in outer London are already ULEZ compliant.”

My car isn’t compliant, what do I do?

Transport for London is encouraging people to use public transport instead of driving wherever possible, or to walk or cycle.

People living in Bromley and Bexley can now apply for a £2k grant to scrap their car, or £1k to scrap their motorcycle.

Electric cars emit no NOx or CO₂ from the tailpipe, and people have also been encouraged to upgrade to a second-hand vehicle that meets ULEZ standards.

If you find you have no choice but to drive within the ULEZ, there are a few different ways to pay.

The daily charge of £12.50 runs from midnight to midnight, and can be paid online.

Motorists can set up Auto Pay, pay on the TfL ‘Pay to drive in London’ app, which is downloadable for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, or pay by phone.

To pay by phone, you can call 0343 222 2222 within the UK and +44 343 222 2222 for international callers, although you may face additional charges.

Are there any exemptions?

Yes, there are several groups of people who may be able to either get a refund, a full exemption, or a temporary grace period.

For a full list of exemptions in detail, click here to visit TfL’s website.

Eligible for a refund:

-Patients travelling to NHS appointments who are clinically assessed as too weak, ill or disabled to use public transport to travel there, or

-Who are too vulnerable to an infection during an epidemic or pandemic

-NHS staff responding to an emergency when on call or

-Who are carrying certain materials or equipment such as clinical waste or bodily fluids

-Some charity, local authority, domiciliary care or care home workers

To find out if these exemptions apply to you, please click here to read more on the TfL website.

To claim an exemption, you will need to pay the charge for your journey, then check with your NHS Trust or hospital, local authority, charity or care home if they are registered to the reimbursement scheme and make the claim to them directly.

Exempt during temporary grace period until October 24, 2027:

-People with ‘Disabled’ and ‘Disabled Passenger Vehicle’ Tax Class, as long as their vehicle does not change tax class

-Disabled people over state pension age who hold a Blue Badge and receive Attendance Allowance, if they apply directly to TfL for exemption

-Wheelchair-accessible vehicles converted by mobility experts to allow a disabled person access as a driver or passenger

-People on a number of different disability benefits

-Parents or guardians of children under three with a medical condition that requires bulky medical equipment, or

-That requires them to always be near a vehicle in case they need emergency medical treatment

-People with terminal illnesses meaning they can’t walk or walking is difficult

-People registered blind or severely impaired

Exempt:

- London-licensed taxis with 12-year age limit for less polluting cars and 15 years for more polluting cars

-Some small businesses, charities, and sole traders

-Cars built more than 40 years ago if they apply for historic vehicle tax as long as it is not used for commercial purposes

-All vehicles constructed before 1973

-Specialist agricultural vehicles

-Military vehicles

-Some mobile cranes

-Showman’s vehicles in some instances

-Community transport minibuses that are carrying passengers on a not-for-profit basis can have a temporary 100% discount until October 26, 2025.