19 November 2023 , 19:06
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Van drivers say they are choosing to take a £65 fine because of the soaring cost of paying to park all day in parts of London.
Tradesmen complain they are being stung with an extra £6.50 an hour levy if they drive a diesel van, on top of hourly parking changes which range from £2.50 to £6.35, according to reports. The diesel surcharge means parking for one hour can cost as much as £12.85, which totals £64.25 for a five hour stint.
Penalty Charge Notices in the North London borough of Islington are between £80 to £130, but the council offers a 50 per cent reduction if the bill is paid within two weeks. This means van drivers can opt to risk tickets beginning at £40, rather than cough up a parking fee which could be £25 more, reports My London.
Plumber Tony Lockhart told MailOnline the parking charges are 'killing people and businesses' as he slammed the 'war on motorists'. He added: "But it goes further than that. It's class warfare. They simply don't want working-class people like me in London." The 45-year-old also said he had turned down jobs because they would not make money.
Tradesman Michael Ovppong, 43, said his boss sometimes allowed him to take a fine because it's cheaper than paying the extra cost. He also said it was 'impossible' to keep moving the car every two hours in spaces with a time limit. Other traders said they were avoiding parking their vans, while some said they were considering giving up their job. Some even labelled the diesel surcharge 'greedy' and a 'cash grab'.
Council forced to refund drivers £100k in fines due to confusing road sign error
It comes after the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) was expanded to all London boroughs this August, requiring non-compliant car owners to pay £12.50 to leave their driveway. In September, Transport for London revealed more than 1.6 million ULEZ fines were issued in just one year, generating more than £50m of revenue.
A £160 million scrappage scheme will allow Londoners with cars that fall foul of the rules (broadly pre-2005 petrol and pre-2015 diesel cars) to claim a £2,000 grant to scrap their vehicle and buy a new one.