ULEZ number plate checker website is hit by technical difficulties as drivers race to see if their cars will fall foul of London’s expanded emission zone before it kicks in from midnight TONIGHT

Transport for London’s ULEZ numberplate checker website was hit by technical issues today as drivers rushed to check if their car will be liable for a £12.50 daily charge from midnight. 

Sadiq Khan‘s unpopular policy will see the air quality charging zone extended to the whole of London – clobbering thousands of drivers already hit by the cost of living crisis. 

As part of the rollout, TfL launched a website where drivers can input their registration details to check if their vehicle will face a bill. 

This morning, a warning message read: ‘Our website is busier than usual. You are now in a queue, and your expected wait time in 1 minute. If you prefer not to wait, please try again later.’ 

ULEZ will generally affect petrol vehicles introduced earlier than 2005 that are not compliant with Euro 4 emissions regulations. 

Meanwhile, diesel cars and vans will only be exempt if their engine complies with more recent Euro 6 rules, which were introduced in September 2015. 

This will snare popular vans registered before the cut-off date including Ford Transit Custom 310s. 

TfL’s online numberplate checker now appears to be working as normal.