Paying the London LEZ, do they make it more difficult than it needs to be?

forgotmyname

Is paying for the LEZ more difficult than it needs to be? Or are they equipped to monitor every street within the zone?

I needed to goto London in my low emission but oddly not compliant vehicle!

The destination is right on the border so a careful route was planned because google maps showed a route that took a direct
one way street which would put me into the zone. Route planned but typical the police are blocking the road with a diversion
so I enter the zone and make use of it anyway by visiting another business.

Some interesting options and some signs fairly easy to miss if you were just using a satnav that could not avoid the zone.

A cul-de-sac with just 9 houses is inside the zone.  What do the owners do, phone up someone at home to make sure a ulez
van is not parked outside? If there is just park on the main road whcih is outside the zone?

Another road has an access road set back from the main road, main road is outside the zone but the access road is inside it.
Simply park 30 feet away on the main road and avoid the fee?

Is using the app a better option because it will not charge you if your sneaky and enter the zone where there are no cameras?
Is it just an honesty charge for many roads/areas if paying on the website and not using the app?

I thought I could just goto the app it would say yes you entered the zone or no you didn't and then taken to the payment
page if you did enter the zone.
Is the app a better option if I need to do the journey again?

Thanks.

WellKnownSid

forgotmyname said:

I needed to goto London in my low emission but oddly not compliant vehicle!

Many people think it's low emission because of their car's CO2 rating, but the ULEZ is based around NOx and PM emissions, the stuff that's actually been killing people on the ground.

Mildly_Miffed

WellKnownSid said:

forgotmyname said:

I needed to goto London in my low emission but oddly not compliant vehicle!

Many people think it's low emission because of their car's CO2 rating, but the ULEZ is based around NOx and PM emissions, the stuff that's actually been killing people on the ground.

Not even PM, just NOx.

Euro4 (2005ish) petrol, Euro6 (2014ish) diesel. 0.08g/km NOx.

And, no, you'll never find "Oooh, yes, we did see you, so you have to pay", except the autopay. Which is nothing to do with an app, but everything to do with your account with TfL.

If you don't do that, assume that there are active cameras on every border entry, and you'll not be far wrong.

Jaybee_16

Before the latest ULEZ expansion, I used to leave the M4 at Chiswick roundabout. Driving along the A406 it was noticeable that every minor road on the right hand side (the then border of ULEZ) had a camera on the corner of the road. So everybody entering the zone would be on camera.

forgotmyname

WellKnownSid said:

forgotmyname said:

I needed to goto London in my low emission but oddly not compliant vehicle!

Many people think it's low emission because of their car's CO2 rating, but the ULEZ is based around NOx and PM emissions, the stuff that's actually been killing people on the ground.

But those figures are not used to say what vehicles are free to enter or charged.  It's the euro rating.  Low emissions but euro 5 = you pay.
Higher emissions but euro 6 and your exempt?

forgotmyname

Jaybee_16 said:

Before the latest ULEZ expansion, I used to leave the M4 at Chiswick roundabout. Driving along the A406 it was noticeable that every minor road on the right hand side (the then border of ULEZ) had a camera on the corner of the road. So everybody entering the zone would be on camera.

Many smaller roads in the expanded area do not have camera's, not sure I spotted one on my journey but I knew the detour and my 2nd stop

was well within the zone. 

The LEZ expansion opens up some interesting legal issues, if a sign is only on one side is that legal?

https://maps.app.goo.gl/HSSDFF1j38iejnkG8
or
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Jo75Z2PYD7oJHC7w8


And Mildly_Miffed answered the question that having an account that auto takes the money only takes it if they capture
you entering the zone.   So win if you enter and they miss you but at the risk of them taking money when it was not you?

WellKnownSid

forgotmyname said:

WellKnownSid said:

forgotmyname said:

I needed to goto London in my low emission but oddly not compliant vehicle!

Many people think it's low emission because of their car's CO2 rating, but the ULEZ is based around NOx and PM emissions, the stuff that's actually been killing people on the ground.

But those figures are not used to say what vehicles are free to enter or charged.  It's the euro rating.  Low emissions but euro 5 = you pay.
Higher emissions but euro 6 and your exempt?

If you have a certificate of conformity that supports this, you should be able to apply for the appropriate exemption.  There are people that have apparently managed to register their pre-2000 cars.

It is obviously less effort to apply a blanket set of policies for all 40 million vehicles on the road and then give Mr Trellis from Basingstoke a chance to apply for exemption for his beloved Subaru.

Mildly_Miffed

forgotmyname said:

WellKnownSid said:

forgotmyname said:

I needed to goto London in my low emission but oddly not compliant vehicle!

Many people think it's low emission because of their car's CO2 rating, but the ULEZ is based around NOx and PM emissions, the stuff that's actually been killing people on the ground.

But those figures are not used to say what vehicles are free to enter or charged.  It's the euro rating.  Low emissions but euro 5 = you pay.
Higher emissions but euro 6 and your exempt?

It's not possible for a car to have higher official NOx than the Euro4 petrol/Euro6 diesel caps, but be compliant with those standards.
If the NOx is higher than 0.08g/km, then it did not meet Euro4 petrol/Euro6 diesel, so wouldn't have been able to be sold after the dates when those standards were required.

Lots of cars met those standards before they became required, of course, and those cars are exempt.

It IS possible for a car to not meet those standards in other ways, but have lower NOx - that's not unusual where a particular engine was also sold in the US, because the US had lower NOx caps than Europe for years. That's the entire basis of the VW diesel saga, after all. That's where manufacturer proof would be required. For UK-market cars, the figure should be on the V5C. For a car imported used from elsewhere in the EU, a Cert of Compliance. For a non-EU-market car, other proof would be required.

jimjames

WellKnownSid said:

forgotmyname said:

WellKnownSid said:

forgotmyname said:

I needed to goto London in my low emission but oddly not compliant vehicle!

Many people think it's low emission because of their car's CO2 rating, but the ULEZ is based around NOx and PM emissions, the stuff that's actually been killing people on the ground.

But those figures are not used to say what vehicles are free to enter or charged.  It's the euro rating.  Low emissions but euro 5 = you pay.
Higher emissions but euro 6 and your exempt?

If you have a certificate of conformity that supports this, you should be able to apply for the appropriate exemption.  There are people that have apparently managed to register their pre-2000 cars.

My 1998 vehicle was marked as ULEZ compliant because the NOx level was within the limit.

The way to reduce your chances of paying is to setup an Auto Pay account. It will only debit your card if spotted. None of this, drive into the zone and have to pay just because you were inside the line. Now been to Heathrow twice and not been charged either time despite being in the ULEZ

forgotmyname

I will setup auto pay if I need to do the journey again.

Thanks.