I fail to understand why anyone drives into the smoke. The mayor has led a project of road narrowing and more recently road blocking to favour cyclists and it's nose to tail a lot of the time. He hasn't reduced pollution in some places but increased it. When you consider that buses and cars have got cleaner that's not impressive.
Plus it will cost £12.50 daily congestion charge from Monday anywhere within the north and south circular unless exempt.
Why drive? Because we live here and (for many households) we have too.
I moved to London from up north >15 years ago.
At first I didn’t need a car as most journeys were local or via a nearby tube to central London, carrying minimal baggage.
However, with kids and the need to get places that are not easily or conveniently served by public transport, cars are often required.
The use has changed though, and I personally walk locally as much as possible (it’s not viable to drive and park anywhere near then town’s ‘high street’).
You’re right about it being harder these days; having an old diesel Audi estate navigating cycle lanes, slow traffic and that impending £12.50 ULEZ charge made it make much more sense to change to a smaller car that makes >65mpg (with electric mode on short journeys) and navigate much easier around blocked traffic. I do miss it though (sometimes)
Yes I did consider giving up a car, but not viable for family needs.
Whilst newer cars are ULEZ exempt, we do need to pay an annual charge to park outside our own homes, and on destination streets across most of London but it’s cheaper for lower polluting cars (similar to road tax).
In summary, absolutely car use and priority of the motorist is changing dramatically in London. Most of us are out of pocket but have little choice, so we need adapt sensibly, or loose out.