Motorists are overwhelmingly against the proposed £10 charge diesel drivers must pay to enter London, suggests a new survey.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the government was considering charging drivers of diesel cars a £10 fee for bringing their car into central London, in addition to the current £11.50 levy. Boris Johnson, mayor of London, has suggested the fees will help make the capital greener.
The proposals have been met with much criticism, especially from the drivers that would be affected if the plans were approved. However, new research from Motorpoint has revealed its not just diesel car owners that oppose the increased levy.
According to the results on the online survey, the vast majority of all motorists object to the additional £10 fee. An overwhelming 74.5 per cent polled said they wouldn’t be prepared to pay the charge or hand over more money in taxes to help local authorities meet European clean air targets by 2020.
Mark Carpenter, managing director of Motorpoint, believes the poll demonstrates that the public objects to another tax being forced upon them every time they decide to drive into London.
He added:“Everyone agrees that more needs to be done to reduce air pollution levels but hitting owners of diesel cars, many of whom have consciously bought those vehicles for their economical as well as environmental benefits, definitely isn’t the answer. More thought needs to go into solutions that don’t involve slapping extra charges on easy targets like motorists.”
The proposals include an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in central London, which would see drivers of the most polluting cars being made to pay an extra £10, in addition to the congestion charge. Other cities are also considering introducing similar policies to help them reach air pollution targets by 2020. If they are unable to do this, they face heavy fines from regulators in Brussels.
Yesterday (September 10th), Mr Johnson told the Environmental Audit Committee that he “felt sorry” for those drivers would would have to pay the higher costs to travel to London under his proposed ELEZ. He said previous government incentives to encourage people to buy diesel cars represented a failure in policy.
He said: “Millions of people were told that they were doing a decent thing by buying a diesel vehicle.”
Posted by George Davis