Transport for London (TfL) have received £220,000 per day since the introduction of the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
Since 8 April 2019, drivers of older, non-compliant cars that enter the ULEZ at any time in the day must pay a £12.50 charge each day on top of the £11.50 congestion charge that operates on weekdays.
Latest figures released by TfL have shown that around 17,400 drivers of non-compliant vehicles paid the ULEZ charge every day in April. If the non-compliant vehicles were all cars, that would measure up to £220,000 per day.
Non-compliant HGVs and buses pay £100 per day.
In what TfL are calling an early success, almost three-quarters (74%) of vehicles that entered the London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in its first month were compliant with the new emissions standards, their report found.
The figures suggest a large decline in the number of high-pollution vehicles entering the square mile since February 2017, when only 39% of vehicles were compliant.
Sadiq Kahn, Mayor of London, said: “It’s early days, but it’s great to see Londoners and businesses are doing their bit to make a difference, with nearly three quarters of the vehicles driving into central London each day now meeting the standards required to turn around this public health crisis. It’s vital this compliance is sustained to truly make a difference to our air quality, and as time goes on we will publish more research into the impact of the ULEZ, progressing this ground-breaking, life-saving work even further.”
TfL claim it is too early to say what effect the ULEZ has had on nitrogen dioxide roadside concentrations, which it was set up to decrease.
Despite warnings being announced that drivers who failed to pay the emissions charge would be penalised from day one, TfL made the decision to only issue warning letters.
This was done for the “first contravention” to motivate drivers to switch to auto-pay and “allow for any genuine mistakes”.
Had these fines been issued, TfL would have generated a further £240,000 per day.
Sadiq Khan has pledged to extend the ULEZ zone to the boundary of the North and South Circular roads in October 2021 if he is re-elected in May next year.
While the new initiative has clearly seen a drop in the number of high-pollution vehicles entering the capital, with the levels of congestion still roughly the same, can this really be characterised as a “success”?
| Date | Number of vehicles driving in the charging zone per day during CC hours | Proportions of vehicles driving in the charging zone during CC hours | |||
| Total number of vehicles | Non-compliant vehicles | Compliant vehicles | Non-compliant vehicles | Compliant vehicles | |
| Feb – 17 | 102,493 | 62,310 | 40,184 | 60.8% | 39.2% |
| Apr – 19 | 89,380 | 26,195 | 63,185 | 29.3% | 70.7% |
| Change | -13,113 | -36,115 | 23,001 | Decrease of 31.5 percentage points | Increase of 31.5 percentage points |
| % change | -12.8% | -58.0% | 57.2% | -51.8% | 80.3% |
Transport for London (TfL) have received £220,000 per day since the introduction of the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
Since 8 April 2019, drivers of older, non-compliant cars that enter the ULEZ at any time in the day must pay a £12.50 charge each day on top of the £11.50 congestion charge that operates on weekdays.
Latest figures released by TfL have shown that around 17,400 drivers of non-compliant vehicles paid the ULEZ charge every day in April. If the non-compliant vehicles were all cars, that would measure up to £220,000 per day.
Non-compliant HGVs and buses pay £100 per day.
In what TfL are calling an early success, almost three-quarters (74%) of vehicles that entered the London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in its first month were compliant with the new emissions standards, their report found.
The figures suggest a large decline in the number of high-pollution vehicles entering the square mile since February 2017, when only 39% of vehicles were compliant.
Sadiq Kahn, Mayor of London, said: “It’s early days, but it’s great to see Londoners and businesses are doing their bit to make a difference, with nearly three quarters of the vehicles driving into central London each day now meeting the standards required to turn around this public health crisis. It’s vital this compliance is sustained to truly make a difference to our air quality, and as time goes on we will publish more research into the impact of the ULEZ, progressing this ground-breaking, life-saving work even further.”
TfL claim it is too early to say what effect the ULEZ has had on nitrogen dioxide roadside concentrations, which it was set up to decrease.
Despite warnings being announced that drivers who failed to pay the emissions charge would be penalised from day one, TfL made the decision to only issue warning letters.
This was done for the “first contravention” to motivate drivers to switch to auto-pay and “allow for any genuine mistakes”.
Had these fines been issued, TfL would have generated a further £240,000 per day.
Sadiq Khan has pledged to extend the ULEZ zone to the boundary of the North and South Circular roads in October 2021 if he is re-elected in May next year.
While the new initiative has clearly seen a drop in the number of high-pollution vehicles entering the capital, with the levels of congestion still roughly the same, can this really be characterised as a “success”?
| Date | Number of vehicles driving in the charging zone per day during CC hours | Proportions of vehicles driving in the charging zone during CC hours | |||
| Total number of vehicles | Non-compliant vehicles | Compliant vehicles | Non-compliant vehicles | Compliant vehicles | |
| Feb – 17 | 102,493 | 62,310 | 40,184 | 60.8% | 39.2% |
| Apr – 19 | 89,380 | 26,195 | 63,185 | 29.3% | 70.7% |
| Change | -13,113 | -36,115 | 23,001 | Decrease of 31.5 percentage points | Increase of 31.5 percentage points |
| % change | -12.8% | -58.0% | 57.2% | -51.8% | 80.3% |