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The ULEZ zone operates across all London boroughs and the City of London. The M25 is not in the zone. Use the ULEZ Postcode Checker to see if an address is within the zone.
To keep car emissions down, the Major of London in 2019 announced the Ultra Low Emission Zone. This is an area where cars and other vehicles will be charged if they enter the zone without being compliant.
To enter the zone with a car that produces too many emissions, you’ll be charged a daily fee of £12.50. This means that if you need to enter the zone for work, you could be looking at a bill of around £3,000 just for commuting in a vehicle that doesn’t meet standards.
The ULEZ zone operates across all London boroughs and the City of London.
For those who need to travel through London, planning your trip around the ULEZ area is now an essential thing that you need to do. However, to make sure that you can plot a route that will avoid the area, you need to know where the zone starts and ends.
Using the latest data and information that includes records of ULEZ camera locations and the most up-to-date changes, we here at Car Adviser have put together a helpful map that you can use to understand the ULEZ area fully.
We have a lot of great resources about the Ultra Low Emission Zone here on Car Adviser to help you learn more about it and combat it, or you can also learn more about cars in general on our website.
As you can see from our ULEZ map, many key areas of London are unfortunately hidden away within the ULEZ area. This means that to visit them with a vehicle that is not compliant, you will have to pay or make alternative arrangements about how to get there.
Some key areas that are within the ULEZ area include:
Buckingham Palace is one of the most important tourist attractions in London. As one of the primary homes of the royal family, this area of the city brings in a lot of visitors. The area around Buckingham Palace is perhaps the most green within the ULEZ area, so it makes sense that it’s within this zone so that the lush parks around the palace are fresh and free of pollution.
Westminster is an iconic area within the ULEZ zone and home to many parliamentary buildings and great architecture. In addition, it’s also an area where a lot of people work, which is why it’s a pretty important destination within the ULEZ area and a place that is heavily affected by the charge.
Westminster is easily accessible by tube, meaning you have alternative options to get to the area.
Covent Garden is a very central area of London and is a crucial destination due to its high volume of quality shops, places to eat, and street performers. The area is also very close to many famous museums, meaning that it’s an area that many people would like to visit.
Much like Westminster, Covent Garden has many incredible tube and railway links, meaning you shouldn’t have much trouble getting there without a car. You won’t be able to park outside the ULEZ and walk to the area, though, as because of its central location, you will have a lot of ground to cover before you make it there.
The Southbank is a fun area within the ULEZ zone, located south of the River. Most famous for being where the London Eye is, this area is already relatively pedestrian and would have been hard to drive to even without the ULEZ charge.
Southbank has a lot of tremendous and exciting stores and Markets and is a hip location within London. The best way to access the area without paying a ULEZ charge is to get a train to Embankment station and then walk across the Golden Jubilee Bridges.
Finsbury is an area in the northeast of the ULEZ zone and is famous for being a trendy and urban area of London full of creatives. Although well within the ULEZ area, you’ll still find that this is one of the more congested areas within the zone.
This means that there could be a fair amount of traffic in this area, which may be another reason you would want to avoid it with your car. That said, if your vehicle is compliant, many routes around this area make it an excellent option to travel with your car.
If you need to enter this area and avoid a ULEZ charge, you can access it through multiple stations such as Liverpool Street, Moorgate and Barbican.
Much like Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London area is another traditional tourist location and sees many people flock to it. Being within the ULEZ area can be annoying for many, making it slightly harder to visit the place without facing a charge.
Notting Hill is a famous area of London, most well known for its annual Caribbean carnival. It’s also close to one of the most famous markets in London, the Portobello Road market, and reasonably close to London Zoo and Madame Tussauds, making it a frustrating place to be within the ULEZ area.
Tottenham now represents the most northern area of London that is included in the ULEZ zone. For many, Tottenham being part of the ULEZ is frustrating as it’s a much less commercial zone and is far more residential than some of the other areas included, meaning that many families and households have been affected by this area extension.
Famous for being where a lot of work opportunities are, particularly in banking and finance, with Canary Wharf being included in the ULEZ, it now means that many workers face having to get a compliant vehicle for work or have to pay an obscene amount of money due to ULEZ charges.
This issue is true across multiple other areas within the new ULEZ zone and has meant that many workers have been forced to upgrade their vehicles to save them money on charges in the long run.
Fulham, as well as nearby Chelsea and Battersea, make up some of the more affluent areas of London and now fall within the ULEZ area.
In the past, Fulham has been a very popular route for people to avoid ULEZ charges. With it now being included, drivers who don’t want a charge will now need to find alternative ways around the ULEZ zone, which is becoming more and more difficult as the area expands.
If you’re planning on entering the ULEZ area and want to avoid getting charged yet don’t currently own a compliant car, you can enter the zones through public transport, such as the tubes and railway stations.
To do this, it’s handy to know what stations are inside the zone to know which ones to use to help you get to specific destinations within the ULEZ area.
As the zone has expanded, many different stations can be used to get you into the ULEZ zone without a car. Some stations are on multiple lines, as you also have access through the London Overground and Dockland Light Railway.
Although it’s much more environmentally friendly to enter the ULEZ area with public transport, it may not actually be the cheapest option. The daily charge for entering the ULEZ is £12.50 a day. Depending on where you’re travelling from, your train ticket could massively exceed this, especially if you’re not travelling alone. Most people using the tube will likely get a day travel card, which typically exceeds £20 a person.
With that said, here of some of the bigger stations inside the ULEZ area that you could use:
Although the ULEZ zone has only recently been expanded to cover everything within the north and south circular in 2021, the area grew again in August 2023 to cover a much larger area of London. In fact, all areas that are considered part of greater London will now be part of the ULEZ area. This means that every station and every borough within London will be affected.
Using our map, you can plan your journey through London to make sure that you avoid the ULEZ area. That said, creating a suitable route can be hard if you're not from the area and do not know the best alternative routes.
Thankfully, many online maps and GPS apps will allow you to create routes that avoid the ULEZ altogether. Google Maps has this feature and also uses up-to-date information meaning that you can trust its suggestions.
Another app is Waze, which can alert you if you're getting close to a ULEZ camera so that you can take an alternative route.
You will be charged if you drive a car that is not ULEZ-compliant within the ULEZ zone. This is even if you live within the zone. This is why many Londoners have been encouraged to swap their current car and purchase new vehicles with emissions under the regulations.
Most modern petrol and diesel cars made after 2015 will pass the rules and not be charged when entering the ULEZ zone. As well as that, hybrid and electric vehicles will also be great choices if you want to get a car that avoids these charges.
You're only charged if your car is being driven. That means you shouldn't have to pay if your car is parked in the ULEZ zone and isn't being used.