ULEZ Scrappage Vehicles to Ukraine – Failing So Far?

This post was updated on 28 May 2024. Reason for update: I received an email from the Mayor of London’s office.

Infographic depicting the ULEZ scrappage vehicles to Ukraine scheme.
Infographic depicting the desired progression of the ULEZ scrappage vehicles to Ukraine scheme

ULEZ Scrappage Vehicles to Ukraine – Summary

This post is about the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) scrappage scheme under which vehicles that do not meet London’s ULEZ emissions criteria can be sent to Ukraine to support humanitarian and medical needs. This scrappage scheme for vehicles to Ukraine was launched by London’s mayor Sadiq Khan, on Friday 15th March 2024.

Participants in the scrappage scheme have the choice to give their ULEZ non-compliant vehicle to meet medical and humanitarian needs in Ukraine and still get a scrappage grant. Source: Mayor of London website. Accessed 7 May 2024.

ULEZ Scrappage Vehicles to Ukraine So Far a Failure

Richard Lofthouse recently wrote about the failure of the scheme, in an update on Change.org.

Richard Lofthouse’s Report about the ULEZ Scrappage Vehicles to Ukraine Scheme

According to British Ukrainian Aid (BUA), the scheme operator, the first vehicle was handed over to clients in Ukraine a few days ago. That is fantastic news, but by now there ought to be dozens delivered and hundreds waiting to go, given that Transport for London gets over fifty applications for scrappage on average every day. Instead, a total of five people have claimed to have entered Ukraine with scrappage vehicles. 

Lofthouse goes on to say that he has to speak up because it is necessary. Russia’s aggression is causing deaths in Ukraine; the country is under tremendous strain, and its partners are not providing enough support. He is aware of Ukrainian medics who were promised cars under the ULEZ scrappage vehicles to Ukraine, but they never received them. That is just not acceptable.

Rather, a series of BUA insiders have come to Lofhouse directly as whistleblowers, informing him that the three trustees have failed for quite obvious reasons that cannot yet be disclosed.

The last informant got in touch with Lofthouse on 4 May and stated, “As of 30 April, only five vehicles have arrived in Ukraine out of over 200 offers of donation.” “I must decide whether to go to the TFL and the press and whistle blow on BUA,” the senior scheme insider says. “If I do nothing, just a very small proportion of vehicles (10/20% may eventually arrive in Ukraine).”

That comes from BUA itself. We might be able to give the charity the benefit of the doubt if it was just one unhappy volunteer voicing their concerns. However, it’s not. Lofthouse has been receiving a series of similar testimonies over the past few weeks, all the while knowing that BUA has rudely dismissed numerous other Ukrainian and British volunteer groups already experienced in transporting vehicles to Ukraine. This is for reasons that are completely unclear but will eventually need to be explained.

Not only has BUA disappointed Ukraine, but they have also let Britain down. This was intended to be a large-scale, publicly funded subsidy for a public good. From the beginning, the idea was that, although TfL naturally wanted to keep things simple by entering into a contract with a single organisation, everyone involved, including the Ukrainian Embassy, assumed that numerous other organisations would assist with resources, volunteer drivers, and basic logistics. That is the only option to expeditiously transport a large number of vehicles to Ukraine. It’s known as teamwork, and generosity and friendliness are its main sources of energy.

A minimum of 1,000 cars delivered would be considered successful, and based on TfL’s projections, the maximum number might be as high as 3,000, with at least 40–50,000 units destroyed. There is still time, but it is limited because the subsidies will expire later this year.

Rather than maximise the benefit to Ukraine, the three trustees of BUA have not only squandered the considerable goodwill offered to them but have actively worked to destroy it. According to insiders, they have refused to collaborate with other groups and have quietly rejected the majority of the offered vehicles to maintain control over the scheme.

According to official statements from Transport for London, 44 cars have been “accepted” into the programme. Although Lofthouse personally counted 23 such vehicles on 30 April in the field where they were being stored, the precise condition of some of those vehicles is still unknown. In contrast, Pickups 4 Peace transported 30 vehicles during their normal convoy last week. Stated differently, that field could be cleared in a single session by a single competent group. Rather, the cars are just sitting, doing nothing.

Why does this occur? That is a question that needs to be asked in public since so many people have asked Lofthouse in private. And why aren’t another hundred cars parked in the field? It hurts considerably more to realise that. Those cars have already been conventionally scrapped. They could have travelled to Ukraine. They were offered to Ukraine by Londoners, but BUA rejected them. Private scrapyards have now commercially disassembled them.

A portion of the weekend was dedicated to Lofhouse touring the University of Oxford with a team from Kyiv City. These scholars had gallantly organised a series of concerts and other community-based fundraising events, garnering £6,000 for the purchase of a single ambulance to be sent to Ukraine.

The idea that this BUA charity has been purposefully and knowingly turning down “free” cars offered to the programme by Londoners eager to assist Ukraine in the meantime, knowing full well that other organisations were willing to transport them there at their own cost, infuriates Lofthouse.

If one may say such a thing, the good news is that this complete disaster is still fixable. However, this will only happen if TfL immediately opens up the scheme by enlisting another group to end the ridiculous monopoly they granted BUA, open up the pipeline, and get more vehicles out to the brave Ukrainian defenders.

Lofthouse gives advice about how you can help

Since Lauren Tait is the Mayor of London’s Principal International Relations Officer, please email her directly at [email address redacted]*. Alternatively, if you would like, send a traditional paper note to Seb Dance, the Deputy Mayor for Transport, at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London E16 1ZE. Urge them to sign up a second charity to stop the rot in order to take immediate action to turn this plan around.

Source: ULEZ to Ukraine: Can it be saved from the people running it? Change.org. Posted 6 April 2024. Accessed 7 May 2024.

*You can view the redacted email address at the link shown below. South Coast View does not publish email addresses on this website.

I Sought More Information

On 12 May 2024, I sent an enquiry by email to the Mayor of London’s office, expressing my concerns at the slow progress of the scheme. I asked if TFL were taking any steps to remedy the situation. In my email I stated Vehicles for medics are, regrettably, consumables due to constant targeting by enemy forces. As a consequence, these vehicles are desperately needed in Ukraine.

On 28 May 2024, I received the following reply from the Mayor of London’s office, shown in the associated screenshot. For accessibility purposes, the text reads:

Thank you for your email below regarding the donation of vehicles for humanitarian use in Ukraine via Transport for London’s ULEZ scrappage scheme. Your comments have been noted and will be shared with Transport for London (TfL).

The amendment to the scrappage scheme that enables Londoners to donate non-ULEZ compliant vehicles to Ukraine went live on 15 March 2024. Since then, more than 130 vehicles have been donated to British Ukrainian Aid via the scheme, of which 67 have already been delivered to Ukraine, and a further 8 donated vehicles are currently on their way.

Yours sincerely,
Public Liaison Unit

Email from Mayor of London about the ULEZ Scrappage Vehicles to Ukraine scheme.
ULEZ Scrappage Vehicles to Ukraine scheme email reply

In short, as of 28 May 2024, 130 vehicles have been donated to British Ukrainian Aid via the ULEZ Scrappage Vehicles to Ukraine scheme. 67 have been delivered and a further 8 vehicles are on their way to Ukraine.

I would have hoped for more speedy progress.

More Information Requested

In the interests of objectivity, I am interested in information from sources other than those mentioned in this post. Do you have information that this ULEZ scrappage vehicles to Ukraine is working, contrary to what has been suggested above? I will be grateful to hear from you. South Coast View’s contact details are at the foot of this post.

Please note that more vehicles may have been sent to Ukraine by BUA since Richard Lofthouse’s report about the ULEZ scrappage vehicles to Ukraine scheme.

Further Reporting

Sadiq Khan charity slammed by Londoners driving Ulez cars to Ukraine. The Telegraph. Subscription required. Accessed 7 May 2024.

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