Ulez scrappage scheme to close for applications

Ulez was expanded to all of London last August

The scrappage scheme for vehicles that do not meet the standards of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) closes on Saturday.

Motorists will otherwise have had to pay £12.50 per day to drive in London.

Transport for London (TfL) said a total of £186m had been paid out to almost 54,000 successful applicants to scrap older, more polluting vehicles.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was proud the scrappage scheme had "supported so many Londoners to switch to cleaner, greener vehicles".

TfL said any application made before the deadline "guaranteed to be processed and reviewed for eligibility".

Drivers who live in a London borough where their car is non-compliant can claim up to £2,000 for a car and up to £7,000 for a van or minibus or if they are a small business.

Charities using minibuses can claim up to £9,000 while disabled Londoners with wheelchair-adapted vehicles can get £10,000.

The scheme has been running since last August.

As of 4 August, TfL data showed it had approved more than 36,000 of the 74,993 applications for cars and motorcycles, and 17,936 of the 61,208 applications for vans and minibuses.

BBC London's transport correspondent, Tom Edwards, said the scrappage scheme "did not go totally smoothly, with processing delays and errors initially".

"However it has succeeded in getting over £180m into the pockets of Londoners for scrapping thousands of more polluting vehicles", he added.

Last month, TfL’s director of strategy Christina Calderato said any remaining funds would then be considered for other proposed uses to further the Mayor’s Transport Strategy.