In the pedestrianised centre of Uxbridge, there was not a car to be seen. But the people in the leafy outer London constituency had plenty to say about vehicles as the ultra-low emission zone extension came into force on Tuesday.
The borough of Hillingdon, which includes Uxbridge, is one of the outer London areas to which the pollution-busting scheme has been extended. Drivers of the oldest, most polluting vehicles now have to pay a daily charge to drive in the zone (£12.50 for cars and more for older coaches and lorries), although most vehicles are exempt.
In a recent byelection, the Conservatives narrowly hung on to the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency vacated by Boris Johnson after his resignation. Labour’s failure to take the seat was blamed by some on antipathy towards Ulez, the scheme enthusiastically promoted by the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
The Guardian spoke to the people sipping coffees and pushing their children in prams on Tuesday, and the message was clear: they felt the scheme was unfair in an area plagued by pollution from nearby Heathrow airport, and where bus services have been cut. Most felt the charge was being levied on those who could least afford it.
But there was no great enthusiasm for the new MP, Steve Tuckwell, who had promised in his campaign to take on the levy.
Stella Burch, 74, was having a coffee with her friend Ruth Bailey, and spoke with derision about her new representative. “For my sins, I always vote Conservative but I won’t now. We haven’t seen him – during the campaign they were going on about taking Sadiq Khan to court and it got thrown out and they obviously knew that was going to happen,” she said.
Bailey added: “Apathetic is the word. I’ve voted all my life and I won’t now.”
The pair were strongly against the new charge, with Burch calling it “a money maker”. She said: “If the pollution is killing people, how does making people pay £12 stop the pollution? It doesn’t. People are still driving and just paying the £12.”
Chibuzo, an Uxbridge resident who only gave his first name, out for a walk with his toddler, thought the air did need clearing up for the younger generation but that the scheme had been implemented unfairly. “I think the government are not being realistic in terms of people’s finances. The scheme is a good idea, but it is coming in too quickly and people can’t afford it,” he added.
Although there is a £110m scrappage programme to help motorists replace affected cars, most people thought it was not sufficient.
Matthew Marsh, 52, supports the Green party and is largely in favour of environmental schemes, but his support for Ulez is tentative at best. Enjoying a coffee and slice of chocolate cake with his spaniel at his feet, he said: “Yes, introduce it, but not at the present time during a cost of living crisis. And I think they should concentrate more on Heathrow airport as well with the pollution that they do – but as usual, the costs fall on ordinary people rather than the big polluters.
“The parks around here, they have fallen into a bad state due to cutbacks in the council; there are so many environmental measures that could take place around here. Labour missed a trick in the byelection. The Conservatives made it a single issue around Ulez, so Labour could have teamed up with the Greens or the Lib Dems and said: ‘Actually, it’s something that Boris Johnson has brought in’.”
Michael, 65, who was on his way to the bank and also declined to give his surname, said he had retired as a builder this year because of Ulez, as he did not think it was worth buying a compliant van so near the end of his career.
“I’ve actually walked here this morning because I can’t use my car,” he said. “I don’t agree with it being in outer London. I know in central London you’re gonna get a lot of pollution. But this is just a money-grabbing scheme. There is no air pollution here, we are surrounded by the greenbelt.”
According to live monitors, the air pollution in Uxbridge on Tuesday was marked as “poor”.
One person the Guardian spoke to was positive about the charge, however. Biaz, 52, who was buying some fruit at a stall outside the tube station, said: “It’s a good idea, it is stopping pollution and is important for health – and it will not affect me as my car is compliant.”
