Air pollution charge divides Londoners

LONDON: For Londoner Beau Boka-Batesa, air quality has drastically improved in the British capital following the rollout and expansion of a contested pollution toll two years ago.

- AKSHATA KAPOOR

Now, Boka-Batesa, 21, feels like he can walk down a high street and "not cough as much."

"It's so much more evident that things aren't as bad as they used to be," said Boka-Batesa, who co-founded the "Choked Up" campaign group to give ethnic minority Londoners living in areas of high pollution.

As French lawmakers prepare to debate scrapping their version of a low-emission zone, which is expected today, UK researchers and campaigners have hailed the effectiveness of the toll in improving London's air quality.

The Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez) — the world's largest pollution charging scheme — was implemented in central London in 2019, before expanding to Greater London's nine million residents in 2023.

It requires motorists to switch to low-emission vehicles or face a daily charge of £12.50 ($15.90) for driving a polluting car within the zone.

Its expansion saw fierce opposition from outer London residents, with local councils launching unsuccessful legal challenges and hundreds of Ulez cameras vandalised by disgruntled people.

While many Londoners are still holding out against the policy, champions, led by Mayor Sadiq Khan, others have resigned or have even accepted its benefits.