Sadiq Khan has been blasted by equal rights groups after an official report revealed the London Mayor’s much-hated Ulez expansion would have a disproportionate ‘negative impact’ on women.
Mr Khan faces yet another backlash after his own review found the controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone would result in women being forced to pay more for public transport when taking their children to school and travel alone at night.
It comes amid a furious row over the mayor’s plan to extend the scheme – where drivers of some vehicles have to pay a £12.50 daily fee – to cover all boroughs from August. The scheme has triggered such outrage that furious Londoners have resorted to stealing dozens of Ulez cameras in protest.
Campaigners from The Women’s Equality Party warned the expansion would mean many women living in outer London would have ‘their access to transport restricted in the middle of a cost of living crisis’.
And the non-for-profit Women’s Budget Group warned the proposal could only be made in a ‘just and inclusive way’ if it went ‘hand in hand with wholesale improvements to public transport’.
A report into the Ulez expansion scheme warned it would have a disproportionate ‘negative impact’ on women living in London. Pictured are Ulez protesters on April 15
Ulez, which currently only covers inner London boroughs, is set to be expanded to cover the whole of London from August. But it is so hated that Londoners have taken to vandalising and stealing cameras that enforce it (pictured is a map showing the expansion and where cameras have been damaged or stolen)
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has defended his scheme, insisting it would help to save the lives of 4,000 people a year who suffer ill-health from air pollution-related conditions
Meanwhile, fuming families living outside the capital have warned they will be hit by £650 annual charge to drive into London to visit sick relatives – while tradesmen say they could be slapped with a hefty £3,000 bill to use their vehicles in the Ulez.
READ MORE: The victims of Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion: From the woman facing £650 annual costs to visit sick relative to the tradesman looking at £3,000 bill
The latest wave of complaints follow a report green-lit by Transport for London (TfL) which assessed the impact the clean air zone rollout would have on residents, the economy and environment.
Mr Khan’s office has insisted the expansion would help tackle pollution and improve the health of Londoners, saving the lives of 4,000 people who die each year from air pollution-related diseases.
The Mayor even said the Ulez would give men high sperm counts, after a study by Imperial College London showed air pollution can damage testicles as well as stunt lung growth and increase the risk of miscarriages and dementia.
But the 200-page impact report on the Ulez expansion, carried out by technical services firm Jacobs, showed women faced being hit hardest by new charges,
It warned it would have a ‘disproportionate impact on women taking children to school in outer London’ who drive a vehicle that would cause the Ulez fee, as they have fewer public transport options available than inner London.
The report also claimed women were three times as likely to do the school drop-off in London compared to men.
The report said: ‘As a result, if they cannot afford to upgrade their vehicles more women may be forced to pay the charge or use alternative modes of travel that may be far less convenient for multiple destinations’.
As well as the impact on mother’s taking their children to school, the report into the Ulez expansion impact also touched upon safety fears women having using public transport like buses in London (pictured)
The current Ulez will be expanded on August 29 to cover all of London’s boroughs – but fears have been raised this could cripple some of the capital’s poorest families struggling to pay bills
Mr Khan say 4,000 people a year died from air pollution-related illnesses. Pictured is a stock image of the smog over London in 2015
Women living in outer London who cannot afford to upgrade their car ‘may be reluctant to use public transport due to perceptions of the risk to personal safety, and therefore may travel less’, the report added.
News of the report comes amid growing outrage over the Ulez expansion plan, set to rollout to all 32 London boroughs on August 29.
Sue Chapman, 63, from Tenterden, Kent, faces the £12.50 ULEZ charge every time she visits a loved one in London who is suffering from severe mental health problems.
Doing the trip by public transport, Sue said, is not doable for her as it would take nearly three hours – involving her taking two buses and two trains – incurring a total cost of more than £30.
Therefore, speaking to MyLondon, she said that she prefers the door-to-door drive in her 2007 Mini Clubman.
While her diesel costs and the parking come to around £30 too, she says she is the only one who can offer her loved one vital emotional support on a shoe-string budget.
Sue Chapman (pictured), 63, from Tenterden, drives more than 100 miles – sometimes every week – to visit her schizophrenic family member in Tooting but says she’ll swallow the bill because of fears their mental state could spiral out of control without her
The 63-year-old added her family member is ‘significantly mentally ill’ and ‘on a lot of medicines’ and if she took the trip down less often she fears they would not be able to cope well.
‘If I visited them less often I can categorically say they would not be as well as they are. They are sadly someone who earlier in their illness made three tough suicide attempts,’ Sue told MailOnline.
Meanwhile, the Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s Ulez is forcing charities to shut down their services because its scrappage scheme ‘doesn’t fit the bill’, with animal charities and schools speaking out against it.
Minister for London Paul Scully told MailOnline that Sadiq Khan needed to ‘get a grip’ on his controversial policy.
The Tory MP said: ‘Charities across London are set to get hammered by the mayor’s tax grab.
Minister for London Paul Scully (pictured) told MailOnline that Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan needed to ‘get a grip’ on his controversial ULEZ policy
At least half a dozen charities have revealed ULEZ and its lacking scrappage scheme mean they will have to shut down their services
‘He’s mismanaged TfL, his scrappage scheme doesn’t fit the bill and now he’s making animal rescue charities pay the price.
‘Khan needs to listen to Londoners and get a grip on this unpopular policy.’
At least half a dozen charities have revealed the lacking scrappage scheme means they will have to shut down their services.
Charities said the scrappage scheme does not offer enough money to retrofit or replace a vehicle in the current market and only allows them to claim a grant for one car.
Dogs on the Streets, which provides vital healthcare services for dogs with homeless or vulnerable owners, said it would will have to give up its delivery address in Enfield because of Sadiq Khan’s charge
The charity accused Sadiq Khan of having ‘absolutely no compassion for our street homeless and vulnerable community’.
Khan’s office has dismissed the charity’s concerns for years.
In 2021, when ULEZ was expanded to inner London, Sadiq Khan’s deputy Shirley Rodrigues told Dogs on the Streets to ‘fundraise’ to pay for the charge, after the charity explained that the scrappage scheme would not help them.
Khan even accused Dogs on the Streets of declining help.
Michelle Clark, founding director of Dogs on the Streets, said: ‘Our dog transport vehicle which is used on a daily basis is not retrofit compliant, therefore we may have to cease using it when the ULEZ expansion takes effect.
‘It would cost the charity £20,000-£30,000 to change the vehicle altogether, which is money we just don’t have.’
Another charity struggling because of ULEZ is Wallington Animal Rescue, an animal, domestic, and wildlife rescue charity in Sutton.
MailOnline has approached the London Assembly for comment.
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
