The Benefits of Owning a Compact Campervan and ULEZ
At Free Spirit Campervans, we pride ourselves on quality and great customer service, as well as; with the rise of Ultra Low Emission Zones (ULEZ) aimed at reducing air pollution, owning one of our specific Nissan or Mercedes compact campervans brings forth a significant advantage: ULEZ exemption.
Free Spirit Campervans specialises in crafting compact campervans that not only offer comfort and convenience but also align with eco-friendly initiatives.
By choosing one of our ULEZ-exempt campervans, you gain access to a world of benefits, with not having to pay for ULEZ being one of the most notable!
What is ULEZ?
The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) – is a new London policy aiming to improve air quality and reduce pollution levels. Introduced in 2019 to initially only cover the same area as the London congestion charge, it was later expanded to inner London. As of 2023, it now extends around the entire Greater London area.
What does this mean for me?
If you live in the London area or regularly drive within it, you must ensure your vehicle meets the emission standards, or you’ll have to pay a ULEZ charge. This is no issue if you don’t plan on entering London any time soon, but for those that do it means paying extra care to check that current or future cars and vans are compliant vehicles.
If not careful, you could end up incurring a daily charge of £12.50 simply for driving around the outskirts. If you fail to pay this in time, you will be issued a Penalty Charge Notice of £180 – so best to set a reminder!
You can check your vehicle is ULEZ compliant using Transport For London’s free tool here. You will need your vehicle’s license plate number.
Are there exceptions?
The ULEZ operates 364 days a year, all hours of the day. This includes weekends and bank holidays. The one exception is Christmas Day. This is not to be confused with the congestion charge, which is waived from Christmas to New Year’s Day. Besides this one day, the ULEZ must be complied with if you don’t want to pay a fee.
Some vehicles are exempt from the ULEZ, including historic vehicles, specialist agricultural vehicles and military vehicles. The full list of exemptions can be found here, but it won’t have any bearing on the average driver.
ULEZ vs LEZ vs CAZ
With all these acronyms floating around it can be hard to keep track of what means what, so here’s a handy list of definitions to differentiate the three:
- ULEZ – London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), the focus of this article, covers most of Greater London. Introduced by Boris Johnson in 2019 to combat London’s growing pollution problem, it is a daily charge of £12.50 for vehicles outside of the accepted emissions range.
- LEZ – London’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) has been in operation since 2008, but only applies to larger vehicles such as coaches, buses and lorries. Unlike the ULEZ, there is no exception for Christmas Day, but as these are commercial vehicles this is unlikely to affect the average driver. It covers the same area as the ULEZ.
- CAZ – There are currently seven cities that operate under a Clean Air Zone (CAZ): Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield, and Tyneside. Other cities are classed as Clean Air Zones but don’t operate under the same model of charging vehicles that are outside of regulations.
ULEZ: petrol and diesel vehicles
The ULEZ rules appear confusing at first glance, but they’re generally quite simple.
For petrol engines, vehicles must meet Euro 4 standards. For diesel engines, vehicles must meet Euro 6 standards. More information on the specifics of these labels can be found here
Free Spirit Campervans: ULEZ compliant!
At Free Spirit Campervans, our aim is to make vehicles ready for adventure. We also know that after an open-road adventure, the last thing you want to worry about is having to pay a charge just to take your van home. That’s why the majority of our vehicles are strictly ULEZ compliant, so you can hit the road in our petrol campervans without fear of unexpected fees!
We can guarantee this compliance through most of our van models that we use as a basis for modification, including:
All our vans are automatic petrol vehicles specially imported from Japan, and as such are ULEZ compliant. This means that no matter if you’re driving across the countryside or into any of the UK’s cities, you can trust your Free Spirit Campervan to be ready for any situation!
