Sadiq Khan’s Ulez scrappage scheme running out of money as drivers risk being hit by daily costs

Transport for London expects to have used up its £210million budget for the scheme by the end of summer, according to The Telegraph.

Under the scheme, London residents could apply for up to £2,000 grant in exchange for scrapping or donating a car or up to £1,000 for scrapping or donating a motorcycle.

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For wheelchair accessible vehicles, the grant is higher at £10,000 to scrap or donate, or £6,000 to retrofit to the ULEZ standards.

The grant became a viable option for drivers after the Ulez boundaries were expanded last August to cover the whole of London.

Documents from TfL found that Mayor Sadiq Khan has already spent £184million of the £210million budget, with 80,000 Londoners now left on the waiting list or risking being hammered by daily Ulez costs.

Khan had previously explained: “As we continue to build a greener and healthier London for everyone, I’m determined that no Londoner and no London business is left behind.”

It detailed how 134,500 applications for the scrappage scheme had been received by July, but only 53,350 had been approved.

A spokesman for the Mayor said: “This number includes applications with errors, those that have been rejected due to ineligibility, and people applying more than once.

“TfL are working hard to ensure every application is responded to as quickly as possible. The Mayor’s scrappage scheme – the biggest scheme of its kind in the UK – has had huge take-up, removing thousands of old, polluting vehicles from London’s roads.

“More than 53,000 applications have been approved to date, including over 300 non-compliant vehicles donated to Ukraine to help humanitarian and medical efforts there.”

In March, the Mayor announced that as part of the scrappage scheme, non-compliant vehicles could receive the same funding for sending their cars to Ukraine.

He said at the time: “As the devastating consequences of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine continue, the country’s infrastructure has been significantly impacted.

"I have worked quickly to amend our scrappage scheme so that from next week, non-compliant vehicles can be donated to Ukraine, helping to meet medical and humanitarian needs while also removing old, polluting vehicles from London’s roads."

Notably, the Mayor added that there was still “plenty of money left” in the scrappage fund and he encouraged anyone applying to consider donating their vehicle to the cause.

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The donated vehicles would be used to help evacuate and transport the injured in Ukraine, including children, women and the elderly, and help medical personnel and aid reach critical locations.