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London Assembly Urges Weight-Based SUV Taxes and Higher Parking Fees

Assembly members say weight-based taxes will curb oversized vehicles’ crash risks.

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Overview

  • The Assembly passed a motion by 14 votes to 8 urging Sadiq Khan to ask the Treasury for a weight-based vehicle excise duty and to press London boroughs to raise parking charges on larger cars.
  • SUVs made up a third of new UK car registrations last year, up from 12% a decade ago, driving concerns over increasing vehicle size in the capital.
  • Research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London finds pedestrians and cyclists are 44% more likely to die when struck by SUVs, with the risk rising to 82% for children.
  • Members warn that heavier SUVs accelerate road surface damage, reduce available parking spaces and exacerbate congestion on London’s streets.
  • The Mayor’s office says it is expanding cycle networks, improving crossings and updating its Vision Zero plan to eliminate serious road injuries, without committing to new SUV levies.