Businesses ‘wiped out’ by £15,000 Ulez cost to keep driving in London | UK News

The Ulez expansion is ‘already wiping out businesses’ as tradespeople are spending at least £24,000 on compliant vans with just a £9,500 bursary.

Sadiq Khan’s decision to expand London’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) to every borough in the capital has seen some tradespeople scrapping their work vehicles.

But Transport for London is only offering £9,500 in their scrappage scheme, which could set business owners back by nearly £15,000.

And according to Fix Radio, 25% of construction workers say they have lost work from increasing their prices due to rising transport costs.

Danny Madden, owner of Madden Builders based in north London, said he has lost clients after they could no longer afford to pay.

He even considered ‘whether carrying on was worth it’ – despite the business being run by family for three generations.

Mr Madden told Metro.co.uk: ‘I know for a fact this is wiping out businesses, people can’t afford to get a new van or they are not getting the work.

‘I lost a six week job because the client wasn’t prepared to pay after I told them I needed to charge them more – it is absolutely infuriating.

‘It became very stressful when I was weighing up all the costs, and there was a moment I just thought, “what’s the point in carrying on”.

‘But this business has been in the family for three generations and I am determined to not let this be the end of it.’

Madden Builders is one of many businesses which says it’ll lose out on work, despite Sadiq Khan claiming tradespeople will be able to ‘take less sick days’.

Some 23% of tradespeople in London say it is now too expensive to use their van, Fix Radio found.

Mr Madden explained the London mayor’s £9,500 to trade in vans ‘doesn’t even even touch’ the £24,000 he spent on a second-hand Ulez complaint vehicle.

‘We bought our old van for £34,000 in 2014 brand new on the assumption it will last us years and years to come,’ he said.

‘But we got a really bad deal on it when we traded it in because the dealers knew we had no choice but to get rid of it.

‘Then when I went to buy the new truck, the yard owners were honest and said their prices were only going to go up because of the demand for them.

‘There were about four other people looking at the one I got, and there was no way the yard could supply all the new vans needed quickly.’

But Mr Madden explained ‘this is far from the end of the problem’ as the costs are continuing to go up.

‘Materials have gone up, and running my business in London has gone up, but of course wages haven’t,’ he said.

‘I feel like it is always the working class left penalised. We kept the country going during Covid but now we can’t afford to run our businesses anymore.’

Transport for London has been contacted for comment.

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