The new mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is planning to canvass fleet operators in a bid to help tackle the quality of air in the capital. There are a number of issues that the mayor is looking to manage, with the expansion and earlier introduction of the ultralow emission zone (ULEZ) one of his main priorities. The world's first clean air charging zone was originally planned to be introduced in September 2020, but it's possible that the start date will now be a year earlier. There are also plans in place to double the originally planned size of the zone. Mr Khan has proposed that the zone stretch from the north to the south circular roads: under the previous design, the zone was to only apply to the current congestion charge area. Plan charges were £12.50 per day for drivers of non-compliant cars, but the mayor has expressed a wish to add an additional premium for the most polluting vehicles from 2017. There are also plans in place to research a new diesel scrappage scheme for the city. Mr Khan said: 'I have been elected with a clear mandate to clean-up London's air. The previous mayor was too slow on this issue and the Government has been hopelessly inactive. We need to speed up our efforts.î It's believed that almost 10,000 Londoners die each year as a result of pollution and London does not currently meet legal requirements for pollutants like nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Around 60 per cent of the NO2 emissions in the city arise from transport, with cars contributing 28 per cent, vans nine per cent, HGVs 18 per cent and buses/coaches 16 per cent. Research by the World Health Organisation (WHO) also shows that London currently breaches safe levels of pollutant particles known as PM10. Fleets operating outside London are already being urged to take a closer look at the mayor's clean air proposals and it's believed that they could soon form the overall blueprint for how vehicles are managed in other areas of the UK. Ashley Sowerby, managing director at Chevin, said: 'A key point to note is that the new suggestions are envisaged as happening much more quickly than previously. The additional congestion charge could happen in 2017 and the extended emissions zone by 2019.î