A man has made his opposition to Ulez very clear by adding a sweary sign onto his truck in protest of the upcoming daily charge.
The Ulez (Ultra Low Emission Zone) will be expanded into all the city’s boroughs from August, with hundreds of thousands more drivers facing a £12.50 daily charge.
Steve Cowan, 57, has made quite the statement about Ulez by strapping fake number plates on the front and rear of his Mitsubishi L200.
The registration on his vehicle now reads ‘F*** Ulez,’ and he says he does not care what the mayor of London thinks.
Steve, from Dagenham, spent £33 on the number plates from an online maker after becoming angered by the extra cost he will soon be forking out for.
He claims he will face the fee ‘every time he leaves his drive’ to visit his 90-year-old mum who lives in nearby Chingford.
‘I’ve just spent five years paying off the truck on finance and working my a*** off, then they bring this in,’ Steve told MyLondon.
‘My mum’s in a care home which means I’ll have to pay the fee whilst going back and forwards to see her.
‘I also work on the other side of water in Erith and will have to pay £12.50 every time I leave my door.’
Steve said he felt this was a ‘better way’ to voice his opinion on the controversial policy.
‘I couldn’t really care what he [Sadiq Khan] thinks about it, if I had my way I’d put them on all vehicles,’ he added.
Christina Calderato, Transport for London’s director of strategy and policy said: ‘Thousands of Londoners die prematurely each year as a result of toxic air and it causes children to grow up with stunted lungs and increases the risk of dementia in older people. Drivers themselves are at risk.’
She went on to add: ‘The London-wide Ulez is vital to tackling the triple threats of air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion, and will ensure millions more people can breathe cleaner air.’
A number of drivers have found inventive ways to protest Ulez, including one man who strapped number plates to his back.
Engin Coban, who has lived in Catford, south-east London, for 38 years says he will be greatly impacted by the divisive new costs.
The handyman currently runs three vehicles, none of which are Ulez complaint – a van, a car and a motorbike.
To protest the move, he has taken to wearing his very own number plate on his person, to cause an ‘annoyance’ to those issuing fines without doing anything illegal.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
