Extending the ULEZ boundary - is this the right solution?

TfL has recently announced they will be widening the ULEZ to cover the London Boroughs. Living on the very edge of London I’m seeing a lot of discussion on local fora discussing (well, mainly complaining) about this decision. There is a definite need to reduce carbon emissions globally, but also improve air quality in cities – but how do we actually achieve this with support of the public? Is this the right solution?

Out of 100s of voices in discussions, I’ve only seen 1-2 positive ones about this – so what are the complaints?

1.     A significant majority disagreed with the decision and we should be listened to

Are the general public best placed to make these decisions and should it have been subjected to a democratic process. Right now, probably not – but it does beg the question, how do we make reduction of emissions important to individuals without legislation? Are the public aware of the emissions levels of their vehicles and alternative travel choices so that they can make informed decisions. And that they want to.

2.     I can’t get my child to school and then work on time

I believe that private vehicle ownership for every travel occasion (even if fully electric) is not the solution to our climate crisis, and that we need to concentrate on alternative modes to improve this. However locally, most residents are unable to consider anything other than a replacement car. In  fact one woman who dared suggest “people try public transport, walking or cycling” was called na?ve.

As much as we would like to believe otherwise, public and active transport is going to take longer and be harder to navigate than a private vehicle for most local travel choices, especially multiple destination ones. For many there isn’t much space in the day to allow for extra time, and for many more there is no desire to. Transport decisions would be so much easier if there was a ready made solution that enabled us to still move as we do now, but significantly lower environmental impact. Individuals are going to have accept some impact on the time and effort on how they move if we are going to move to shared or active travel. But then both have to be better – routes for both that go where we need them to, that individuals feel safe on, and have a known travel time. Remember also here we are talking about London boroughs, where there are all manner of public transport offerings which are reasonably priced – the challenges in smaller cities, towns or village communities is much harder to overcome.

But we mustn’t forget those with no desire to – public and active transport needs a better image that they are desirable (as owning a car is).

3.     It is hitting the poorest in society the hardest.

In general petrol cars registered after 2006 and diesel after 2015 will not be impacted; many people who are driving older vehicles drive them because they are unable to afford a replacement (ULEZ is coming with a scrappage scheme for some benefits recipients). It is likely that these individuals also have jobs where working at home is not an option, and may require unsociable hours travel. Even in London there is not necessarily an even reasonable alternative to these journeys. So even if people do wish to change their behaviour – will they be able to?

 So what does need to be done?

1.     Understand better where people move from and to (door to door, and considering multi destination journeys) and overlay them with existing (non – private) travel options. Where are the gaps in terms of location and time. Can we plan the provision of our public transport better?

2.     Continue to work on the safety and security of travelling using public and active travel (and perception of)

3.     Education of the public. There are so, so many facets to this. There’s the challenge of the climate change deniers, however it appears that so many people do not see the impact of their day to day travel choices on air pollution and climate change. We’re trying to change people’s choices from the aspirational car, to something that takes longer, is harder to navigate, less available and with more variable travel times. It’s not the easiest sell. And this is both the toughest and most important challenge we need to overcome.

And I acknowledge this is over simplistic. I haven't touched on accessibility, trades people who need to carry tools, and so many other individual struggles that exist in not using a car or van.