Drivy is providing a special offer to any London car owners and fleets who choose to upgrade to a greener vehicle and list it on the car sharing app

Drivy is providing a special offer to any London car owners and fleets who choose to upgrade to a greener vehicle and list it on the car sharing app, as they seek to avoid charges that will be imposed by the new Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) rolling out on 8 April 2019.

Drivy supports the Ultra Low Emission Zone as part of the Mayor of London’s Strategy to reduce congestion and improve air quality in London. Given Transport for London’s target for 80% of journeys to be made using public transport by 2041 - car ownership in London can, and needs, to be substantially reduced. Most cars are hardly ever used, sitting parked for more than 96%* of the time and taking up valuable space. It is Drivy’s mission to get people to give up their personal cars and use shared cars only when needed - because shared cars mean less parked cars on the road, cleaner air and more space in the city.

The new zone will operate across the same area as the current Congestion Charge Zone. Generally, the charge will affect a significant number of petrol cars manufactured before 2006 and diesel cars before 2015.

Owners of non-compliant cars will either need to pay the new charge fee or scrap their cars. The alternative options will be to upgrade to a cleaner car or make use of alternative services such as public transport and car clubs.

In recognition that some Londoners may not have a compliant model but may still need to own a personal car, Drivy will waive its commission for any car owner who scrap their cars in exchange for hybrid or electric ones that they share on Drivy.

The offer will apply to both private individuals and businesses. As hybrid and electric cars are still quite expensive to purchase and subsidies significantly reduced or no longer available, sharing the car when it’s not in use on a car sharing platform like Drivy this will allow those affected to recoup the purchase costs.

Katy Medlock, Head of UK shares: “The Mayor’s ULEZ zone is another great step towards improving air quality in London. We need to reduce the number of cars in London and encourage people to make more of their journeys by public transport, wherever possible. So, Drivy is providing the offer to support Londoners who need their own car because public transport is not a viable option for their circumstances. So, by upgrading to more environmentally friendly cars and renting them out to other people when they're not using them, people living in London can further offset some of the costs of a cleaner car.”

Terms and conditions will apply.

To find out whether or not a car is compliant for the Ultra Low Emissions Zone, please visit Transport for London's Vehicle Checker

*RAC Foundation