Millions of car drivers will face charges of £12.50 a day or be forced to buy new vehicles as ultra-low emission zones roll out in the UK.
In Central London, drivers of older cars and vans will have to cough up from April and as many as 20 councils plan similar moves.
Petrol cars that meet the new standards are generally those registered after 2005 but diesels mostly only pass if registered after September 2015.
Taxis could be forced to pay up to £50 a day and lorries £100 a day in some schemes.
The zones follow Government rules aiming to bring down lethal nitrogen dioxide levels within legal limits in the shortest possible time.
But critics, while welcoming moves to clean up our air, fear schemes will hit less well off motorists most.
Especially as last week it was revealed motorists will have to pay up to £1,000 a year to park at work under plans to cut big-city congestion.
Hugh Bladon, of the Alliance of British Drivers, said: “Wealthy people can change their cars every two or three years but the people who will be most affected by this are those least able to afford to change their car frequently.”
But air pollution is linked to thousands of deaths every year.
And the move comes after nine year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah’s death from asthma in Catford, South East London, in February 2013 was the first to be linked to illegal levels of pollution.
The Department for Transport said: “There is clear evidence of the impacts of poor air quality, which is why we are working closely with over 50 English local authorities to help reduce their levels of nitrogen dioxide.”
