I’m going out of business because of ULEZ – my customers are skint and our street is split in half
LIVID residents in London’s ULEZ borderlands say they are going out of business as the anti-car fee cuts their towns in half.
They are victims of a “disgusting” catchment boundary which lurches into Crayford, South East London and Dartford, Kent – snaring roads at random.
It has left some facing a £12.50 charge simply for leaving their house as ULEZ plotters plonk cameras at the only entrances to their streets.
Mehmet Ahmet, 54, from Welling, Kent, runs greasy spoon Happy Day’s Cafe in Crayford and says Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plans have destroyed him financially.
He told The Sun: “In other countries there would be riots but people just take it here.
“I have decided this year might be my last year, it’s just getting harder and harder. It’s quiet, people aren’t coming some days.
“People have gone into debt to get a new car, insurance has doubled. My customers aren’t happy, they’re talking about scrapping their cars.
“I’ve got a T-reg Audi, going to have to get rid of it, or the other option I’ve got is pay the £12.50 every time I use the car.”
The Ulez row in the area is complicated by London’s border with Kent, which sees Maiden Lane bisected down the centre line.
On the Bexley side – inside Greater London’s boundaries – residents are eligible to claim as much as £7,000 for a van and £2,000 for a car if they scrap their ULEZ non-compliant vehicle.
But residents on the other side, just yards away from the ULEZ expansion zone – coming into force on August 29 – cannot claim anything.
Mehmet blasted: “How much car are you going to buy with £2000? They’ll do anything to rob the country and the working class.”
‘MAKES YOU POORER’
The measly scrap allowance has left one builder livid, he told The Sun from his Toyota Hilux: “I don’t qualify. I will lose 50 percent of my work.
“I can’t go into ULEZ, I can’t afford £3000-a-year. I can’t afford a new van. It’s alright for the rich but for the poor it ruins them and makes you poorer.”
As a general rule, most petrol cars made before 2006 and Diesel cars produced before 2015 will have to pay the ULEZ charge.
So far, over 1,775 ULEZ cameras have been installed across the capital, out of a total planned 2,750.
The scheme is expected to cost £140 million of taxpayers’ money.
Over at Crayford Station, inside ULEZ, taxi driver Mohammed Ali said the fee has brought him to his knees, being forced to rent a family car while his Peugeot sits on his Dartford drive.
The 35-year old said: “It’s disgusting. As soon as I get in the car I’m scared of going anywhere, knowing you’re going to get charged. It’s ridiculous.
I do night shifts in Essex which is £12.50 on the way there, £12.50 back, £25 a day is ridiculous – that’s £6000 a year
Stuart Barrow
“Being a Hackney Carriage driver you must have a wheelchair accessible vehicle and those which are ULEZ compliant are £30-£40,000.
“Every time you drop off a £6 fare, you’ve got to pay £12. I don’t know what the Mayor is thinking.”
Mohammed is now considering a career in removals.
Electrician Stuart Barrow, 54, lives inside the boundary off Maiden Lane and has been forced to sell his Honda VFR 800 motorbike and get a new compliant VFR 1200.
He added: “I do night shifts in Essex which is £12.50 on the way there, £12.50 back, £25 a day is ridiculous – that’s £6000 a year.
“It’s a big cost for everyone. A lot of hospital workers are getting hit hard. People are getting charged just for going in and out of their road.”
But one pregnant mum-of-one on Whitehill Road, which will have cameras at both entrances, says she fully supports ULEZ for kids’ safety.
‘STOP COMPLAINING’
She explained: “It is a massive risk to your health. Just get a car that is compliant and stop complaining! Ride a bike, walk or take the bus.”
A few doors down, Chris Miles, 61, who has two compliant cars, sees both sides of the row, adding: “I see why the Mayor wants to bring it in but I don’t see what difference it will make.
“I understand why people are angry, the next thing the council wants to do is put yellow lines on our road.”
And gardener Gary Johnson told of his anger at the expansion, adding: “It forces people to do things like fly tipping because they can’t afford the ULEZ if they go to the dump.
“He’s charging £12.50 from coming in, why not just stop cars all together? It’s just money for the coffers.”
John Leach, 81, from Sidcup, Kent, has run a house clearing company since 1970 and was with colleague Adam, who lives in Erith, Kent.
Speaking from his shop on Crayford road, he fumed: “Khan is the worst Mayor in 500 years. I’ll have to pay £12.50 every time I take my truck out, it’s only 6-years-old!”
Colleague Adam said ULEZ has cost him £16,000 to change his van and it’s impacted his family, adding: “It’s breaking people and will cause long term damage.”