Visits to London by car/public transport under new ULEZ rules

Wonka_2

I've had to delay a planned leisure trip to London with daughter which will now take place after the extension to the ULEZ zone. Unfortunately I'll also have to take our 2015 family hatchback which is not ULEZ compliant rather than my 2010 sports convertible that is compliant

I have to drop off at Heathrow on 31st - apparently I can't now do this without incurring the ULEZ fee for that day - but I'm then looking for a hotel for evening of 31st/1st with easy public transport into central London. Historically I'd have looked at M4/A4 Corridor/Kingston/Croydon but all of these now fall under the ULEZ zone.

I'm struggling to find a map anywhere that overlays the ULEZ zones with the TFL Zones 1-6 for public transport use.

Any thoughts on somewhere within the zones 1-6 between Staines area and Watford Area that has hotels outside the (extended) ULEZ zone and access to a station within zone 6 (or actually under TFL rail scheme Zone 9)

My other option given I've already had to pay on 31st is to have a hotel closer in and accept not using the car on 1st then paying again on 2nd to leave the zone.

And yes - I'd love to follow Khans vision that public transport is the answer but at £200+ for the train (one way) and no guarantees with strikes then car is the only solution  

baser999

Not sure you’ll find a ULEZ map with public transport overlays despite the fact that you’d think that would be very useful for anyone such as yourself who’ll be hit by the impending charge and needs to research alternatives. I reckon you’ll just have to compare ULEZ and TFL maps side by side. Another option might be to see if you can get a LHR hotel deal overnight to include parking, leave your car there the following day and use public transport (there’d be no charge if the cars not moved) although it looks as if you’ve already considered something along those lines.
There might be areas in the SW such as Richmond, Wimbledon that are o/s expanded ULEZ?

400ixl

What about around Rickmansworth area?

Although may be cheaper to pay the ULEZ fee and stay in walkable distance of where you are visiting by the time you do multiple Zone 6 journeys.

annabanana82

We've stayed at Premier Inn on Bath Road in the past, you can leave your car there, then get the bus to Hounslow West and then tube into London. This is going back a few years now but there was a shop in walking distance where you could buy your day travel pass from the hotel.

Alternatively we've also stayed at the Mercure in Watford, then we got a taxi to Stanmore but the car park is quite plentiful for parking.

Wonka_2

As an update I've found a solution that suits me

Drop Mrs Wonka at Heathrow on day 1 incurring ULEZ charge (registered online so I don't forget) then head to Premier Inn Uxbridge Centre 

Day 2 - car remains in car park and we head into Central London from adjacent station then back to Premier Inn overnight 

Day 3 - TBC but incur ULEZ charge to leave the zone

Premier Inn £84 total for 2 nights
Parking - TBC but budgeted £40 based on discounted hotel rate for nearest car park
ULEZ - £25 (2 x £12.50)
Transport £60 (potentially 2 x 2 x £14.90 daily cap)

baser999

Shame that Premier Inn don’t have an on-site carpark where you can leave the car

Wonka_2

Bit of an update for anyone interested

Despite the Bladerunners best efforts I did get charged for both Thurs (drove Heathrow-Uxbridge) and Saturday (drove Uxbridge-Camden-M1 north) so that's £25

Car park at Uxbridge was £32 (£25 per day but surprisingly it counted 24hrs + an overnight + a few hours on Sat am rather than the 2 days I was expecting)

And for public transport we only used tube Uxbridge-Kings Cross then Baker St-Uxbridge with c. 15 miles of walking 

Certainly a recommended Premier Inn - especially at that price - and even more so if parking isn't needed

zagubov

Might not be as convenient but the Premier Inn in Tolworth may be outside the zone, and is accessible from the A3/M25.
Parking may be limited and there's a daily charge. You'd be next to Tolworth train station which has parking. Not suitable for night owls, as last trains are around 11PM

silvercar

For future reference Borehamwood has a Premier Inn (and 2 Travelodges and an Ibis), is outside the ULEZ and has a train station (Elstree & Borehamwood) that is in TfL zone 6. Also good road links to A1, M1 & M25.

Station parking is £4.20 after 10am on weekdays, £3.30 weekends. Full tariff here.

Wonka_2

zagubov said:

Might not be as convenient but the Premier Inn in Tolworth may be outside the zone, and is accessible from the A3/M25.
Parking may be limited and there's a daily charge. You'd be next to Tolworth train station which has parking. Not suitable for night owls, as last trains are around 11PM

We looked at this one as the A3 is 'outside the zone' as far as Malden - but as soon as you leave the roundabout towards the Travelodge you're in the ULEZ zone. That said there is a small residential area at the other side of the A3 roundabout (Barnsbury Lane) that remains outside the zone and seems to have unrestricted on-street parking (surprisingly given it's relative proximity to the station)