Around 60,000 ULEZ Fees Paid Every Single Day

Traffic passes a sign indicating the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) near Hanger Lane in west London on July 22, 2023. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

In the first month of London’s ULEZ expansion, around 60,000 vehicle owners paid the £12.50 daily charge.

The figures by Transport for London (TfL) showed that since Aug.29, there were 93,700 vehicles driving in London on an average day that didn’t meet ULEZ standards.

Around 36 percent of these vehicles were exempt. The drivers of the remaining number—approximately 60,000 vehicles—had to pay the fee for driving a non-compliant car.

In response to around 3 percent of non-compliant vehicles, authorities are taking enforcement action over fees not being paid.

Official data showed that the DVLA has had limited access to the registered vehicle owners’ information. This has resulted in 417,080 drivers evading ULEZ fines.

A similar trend was clear in the case of Congestion Charge fines, where 114,274 penalties were not issued for the same reason.

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It is estimated that the TfL receives approximately £730,000 a day in ULEZ fees. According to the TfL, all money received from the scheme is reinvested into developing London’s transport network.

Contested Decision

ULEZ was expanded by London Mayor Sadiq Khan to cover the capital’s outer boroughs impose a £12.50 daily fee on drivers of non-compliant vehicles, which are broadly those manufactured before 2005 for petrol vehicles and 2015 for diesel vehicles.

Mr. Khan said that the proportion of vehicles driving in London that meet the ULEZ standards has increased from 39 percent in 2017 to 95 percent in 2023.

“This is the impact of the ULEZ. It’s great that the vehicles on London’s roads are cleaner than ever before. Together, we’re cleaning up London’s air for generations to come,” the mayor said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The decision to expand ULEZ to all 32 boroughs was not well-received by many, including motorists, businesses and local authorities.

The Metropolitan Police reported that 244 ULEZ cameras were damaged, and 41 were stolen, in September. A total of 795 ULEZ cameras have been damaged or stolen from the beginning of April to the end of September.

ULEZ penalty charges are a hefty addition to the expenses of London households and businesses, faced with the cost-of-living crisis and high inflation. A former MEP and co-deputy leader of the Reform UK party, called the ULEZ expansion a “war on the working class.”

Mr. Khan has admitted that ULEZ expansion was “not an easy” decision to make but he was set to see it through.

“I’m determined that both today’s Londoners and the next generation can grow up breathing cleaner air, wherever they live in the capital,” Mr. Khan said.

The mayor said that 19 in 20 vehicles on London’s roads “are now compliant” with ULEZ standards.

“London is now the world’s largest clean air zone,” Mr. Khan said.

He encouraged Londoners with non-compliant vehicles to apply to the £110m scrappage scheme for support.

Those eligible can apply for a grant of up to £2,000 to scrap their non-compliant car. Small businesses and sole traders will be able to receive up to £21,000 in grants to scrap up to three vans. The TfL said up to £27,000 in grants is available for charities to crap up to three minibuses.

TfL’s director of strategy and policy, Christina Calderato, has welcomed the news that “95 percent of the vehicles driving in the capital comply with the scheme’s transformative air quality standards.”

The spokesperson for RAC warned that those not on the road in September could have been unable to travel because they were “stuck with a non-compliant vehicle.”

Meanwhile, the TfL said it was too early “to draw firm conclusions” about its figures showing a reduction in vehicle usage.

If drivers of non-compliant vehicles fail to pay the daily £12.50 charge, they will be sent a penalty charge notice. The penalty charge for all vehicles, including cars, vans, mopeds, ambulances and minibuses is £180. If paid within 14 days, the fine is reduced to £90.

PA contributed to this report.