AIR POLLUTION

opposition, yet those issued by City Hall always show support, excluding one survey leaked to The Telegraph earlier last year. The latest polling, conducted by City Hall, showed that 51% supported the scheme, though it is hard to appreciate an overall view with the number of conflicting datasets being pushed to members of the public.

Five Tory councils, all from outer London, have lodged a high court challenge against the expansion proposals, citing a lack of public services in outer London that, in effect, makes car ownership a requisite, especially to travel around the suburbs. Transport for London has in response, rather belatedly, announced plans for a “Superloop” of buses around the outer boroughs, though these are forecast to be operational by 2025, leaving a two-year gap that will trouble residents. Those who live inside the current ULEZ zone are often wealthier and able to afford alternative methods of transport, so critics see it as unfair that suburbanites are being roped into a scheme with barely any consultation.

Nevertheless, whilst TfL’s approach to introducing the expansion may have been inappropriate, it is unequivocal that low-emission zones work. In Germany, estimated savings of between €760m and €2.6bn were made by LEZs, and research by Imperial College London found that the initial ULEZ pilot did reduce air pollution levels by a few percent. The same study also acknowledged, that LEZs are not a “silver bullet” and that improving London’s air quality will require multiple measures, such as preventing idling outside schools and making buses hybrid, as 44% of London buses currently are.