I feel conned ULEZ

[Deleted member 26715]

Took my nephew back to London yesterday & to fix an issue with his canal boat, we went down the A1, A14, M11 then onto the North Circular, A406 Westbound, we came off at a junction, under the A406 & then North about a mile to N9 0AS.

He doesn't drive so knows very little about ULEZ, I'm a Northern foreigner in the place so know even less, however I have now found out that we did in fact go into the ULEZ zone & have been charged £12.50 for the privilege, however from what I can work out if you are traveling West on the A406 it's impossible to get off without incurring a charge.

In future I'll keep coming down the A1 & travel along the A406 East & not pay the charge as we won't have gone into the zone, the TFL website & phone lines are a waste of space, as neither can tell you IF your car was actually on camera, I feel like at least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I'm kind of unsympathetic. You might be right about the details of the North Circular - I never drive up there - but I live in the ULEZ. Air quality is a significant issue here and (from what I remember reading) ULEZ has been effective in reducing NOx pollution.

 

[PeteXXX]

The TFL site has a place where you can put your registration number in to check if your car is LEZ or ULEZ compliant. I found the map on the site useful, too.

 

[Brandane]

Best practice IMHO is to never venture inside the M25. On any mode of transport, ever.

 

[Donger]

I'm kind of unsympathetic. You might be right about the details of the North Circular - I never drive up there - but I live in the ULEZ. Air quality is a significant issue here and (from what I remember reading) ULEZ has been effective in reducing NOx pollution.

.... which is where the other thread about incomprehensible rail fares comes in. Fair enough if the powers-that-be want to steer you away from driving and onto public transport, but with the best will in the world I have very little intention of using trains as an alternative so long as the current incomprehensible fare system is in place. De-regulation/de-nationalisation has created a situation where buying a rail ticket feels as dodgy as dealing with on-line scammers. I haven't been to London for a decade or so, and don't intend to in the near future either while the choice is between ULEZ charges or rail fare lottery.

 

[Bazzer]

Took my nephew back to London yesterday & to fix an issue with his canal boat, we went down the A1, A14, M11 then onto the North Circular, A406 Westbound, we came off at a junction, under the A406 & then North about a mile to N9 0AS.

He doesn't drive so knows very little about ULEZ, I'm a Northern foreigner in the place so know even less, however I have now found out that we did in fact go into the ULEZ zone & have been charged £12.50 for the privilege, however from what I can work out if you are traveling West on the A406 it's impossible to get off without incurring a charge.

In future I'll keep coming down the A1 & travel along the A406 East & not pay the charge as we won't have gone into the zone, the TFL website & phone lines are a waste of space, as neither can tell you IF your car was actually on camera, I feel like at least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask.

I am not from around there, but I would imagine there are plenty of road signs telling you where the zone starts. That is certainly the case for the proposed emissions zone around Manchester which is currently under review, and the emissions zone in Birmingham.

 

[fossyant]

It's sign pollution in Manchester - bloody everywhere, and cameras - it's all over Greater Manchester ! The signs have almost doubled with the 'under review' signs added too. Bonkers.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I am not from around there, but I would imagine there are plenty of road signs telling you where the zone starts. That is certainly the case for the proposed emissions zone around Manchester which is currently under review, and the emissions zone in Birmingham.

There are. In my neck of the woods there are, anyway. I dunno about North of the river. It's a bit weird there.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I'm kind of unsympathetic.

I wouldn't expect anything else & would be concerned if you were But seriously you are go onto a road which you cannot get off without incurring a charge, nor are you advised of that BEFORE going onto that road or given an option to come off it.

The TFL site has a place where you can put your registration number in to check if your car is LEZ or ULEZ compliant. I found the map on the site useful, too.

Yes it does, but what it does not tell you is if you have been in the zone, it's like proving a false positive, you cannot go into the site, put in your registration & then be told if you need to pay, but if you don't pay there will be a NIP along shortly.

Best practice IMHO is to never venture inside the M25. On any mode of transport, ever.

This is/was the first time I have driven down there in 20 years, it was only to take my nephew back, he's been looking after his disabled father whilst his mother was in hospital, then looking after them both whilst she recovered. He normally uses the train, but he had a wiring issue on the boat which was beyond his skill level.

I am not from around there, but I would imagine there are plenty of road signs telling you where the zone starts. That is certainly the case for the proposed emissions zone around Manchester which is currently under review, and the emissions zone in Birmingham.

Which is all well & good if you are local, but we aren't, so seeing a little green sign at the side of the road, whilst following a sat nav down a road, looking for your exit aren't the priority.

 

[wafter]

As a smug aside, I was all ready to battle the ULEZ monster when being reluctantly propelled into the centre of hell in the car earlier in the year; only to find that my lovely, battered 19yr old Honda is exempt; those hyper-efficient Japs having ensured their products were Euro 6 compliant years before it was a necessity

 

[Dogtrousers]

I do actually have a teeny bit of sympathy because all this stuff can be quite complicated. Take the congestion charge, I don't have a clue how it works. I've only once had to pay it since it was introduced 20 or so years ago. I'd be baffled if I had to take my car into central London, as it's something I never do.

So a smidge of sympathy.

I sold my clunky old diesel when ULEZ was introduced, otherwise it would have been ker-ching £12.50 every single time I took it off the drive. And I only live about 500m inside the zone. (Said clunky diesel that I bought when diesels were supposedly the responsible thing to buy) But overall I'm a supporter of ULEZ and if it ensnares a few unwitting yokels who are chugging down here in their steam tractors, with a blade of straw clenched between their teeth, so be it. Maybe they'll return to their Northern settlements and spread the word of the evil pickpocket sentinels that line the streets of the capital.

 

[Jody]

As a smug aside, I was all ready to battle the ULEZ monster when being reluctantly propelled into the centre of hell in the car earlier in the year; only to find that my lovely, battered 19yr old Honda is exempt; those hyper-efficient Japs having ensured their products were Euro 6 compliant years before it was a necessity

Euro 4 for petrol cars in the ULEZ.

 

[wafter]

Euro 4 for petrol cars in the ULEZ.

Thanks - I stand corrected! Tbh it was difficult to find much concrete information on the criteria when looking..

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I feel it's a bit like the bus gates in Sheffield, in those all of them can be used by buses, taxis & cycles, but only some of them can be used by motorcycles, again there is a sign, which has either got a taxi a cycle & a motorcycle, or just a taxi & a cycle.

Haven't been into Sheffield on a motorbike for a few years there was one that didn't tell you that you couldn't use it until you got to it, by which time you had no option to use it, you were already in a one way bus lane with no access out of it, other than I suppose stopping getting off the bike & pushing back down the footpath. TBH I used it several times before I realised motorcycles shouldn't be using it, I also couldn't see the logic, it cut over a mile off the route & made it far safer.

 

[Jody]

Thanks - I stand corrected! Tbh it was difficult to find much concrete information on the criteria when looking..

I only know as I couldn't work out why my car at almost 20 years old was also ULEZ compliant.