Our hobby and ULEZ

[fulton]

Londons ULEZ Ultra Low Emissions Zone is due to be extended later this year to the whole of London, not wishing to go into all the arguments about this, I was reflecting on how this will effect our hobby, talking to someone at EXPOEM, he lives just outside the new zone, but attends a club just inside, he is not willing or able to buy a new vehicle, so each visit would cost £12.50 which he cannot afford, I live outside the zone but visit exhibitions, which will soon be inside, fortunatly I have a ULEZ compliant vehicle, EURO 6, but how many others will be put off attending by the £12.50 charge. Also an exhibition could be faced with extra expenses if inviting a layout from outside the zone, I have already been asked about my vehicle for an exhibition I am attending in December. I do not want to rant, but just wish to make people aware of the changes.

Edited May 18, 2023 by fulton
Correction

[HExpressD]

A valid concern I suppose, but I would imagine the specific scenario the person at EXPOEM has is probably shared by at most 4 other people. I think ultimately the goal of ULEZ is a more worth concern than the odd extra expense. 

[fulton]

15 minutes ago, HExpressD said:

 I think ultimately the goal of ULEZ is a more worth concern than the odd extra expense. 

Agree, I just want to highlight and remember the personal consequences to ordinary people, there are many model railway clubs, plus alsorts of other clubs, near the edge of the zone who have a catchment area that extends beyond.

[Bernard Lamb]

1 hour ago, fulton said:

Londons ULEZ Ultra Low Emissions Zone is due to be extended later this year to the whole of London, not wishing to go into all the arguments about this, I was reflecting on how this will effect our hobby, talking to someone at EXPOEM, he lives just outside the new zone, but attends a club just inside, he is not willing or able to buy a new vehicle, so each visit would cost £12.50 which he cannot afford, I live outside the zone but visit exhibitions, which will soon be inside, fortunatly I have a ULEZ compliant vehicle, EURO 6, but how many others will be put off attending by the £12.50 charge. Also an exhibition could be faced with extra expenses if inviting a layout from outside the zone, I have already been asked about my vehicle for an exhibition I am attending in December. I do not want to rant, but just wish to make people aware of the changes.

I also do not want to rant.

However let us look at the other side of the coin.

The idea of a charge is not to raise money, but to make you think before you drive into London.

A petrol car over 16 years old is not good for the environment. Buying one just under the age limit should not cost that much if you are desperate to drive in the zone.

Please use public transport and help prevent too many other people ending up like me  with asthma and other related health issues.

We need to cut down on the use of private cars in large cities and people like you should think of the harm that you are doing and not be quite so selfish.

Bernard

[Phil Parker]

I'm inclined to lock this thread as it will only descend into ranting about the pros and cons of the ULEZ - and I don't want to spend the evening trying to keep a lid on things. For a start, I have a pile of Coopercraft kits to build...

 

The ULEZ is a fact of life. Yes, it will affect people, but according to TFL, 9 out of 10 cars meet the standard already. The charge is a daily one, so our modeller could simply make his trips into the zone the same day as he goes to the club to save money. Or car share, or take the bus.

 

Ultimately though, no amount of fuss on RMweb is going to change anything. There's already much "discussion" on Facebook etc. and much of it would breach our guidelines on politics. Another thing I don't want to moderate.