Drivers handed more than £322m in fines since Ulez expansion, figures show

Drivers have been handed more than £322 million in fines for non-payment of London’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) fees since the scheme expanded, new figures show.

Nearly 1.8 million penalty charge notices (PCNs) were issued between August 29 last year and the end of June, according to PA news agency analysis of Transport for London (TfL) statistics.

The total value of these at the point of issue was £322.8 million as the transport body’s PCNs are £180 each, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.

TfL’s figures suggest it also received approximately £176 million from drivers who did pay Ulez fees over the same period.

The transport body said all income generated from the scheme is “reinvested back into public transport”.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan made the zone almost four times larger by covering all the capital’s boroughs on August 29 last year, creating the world’s biggest pollution charging zone.

At the time, he said it was “a difficult decision” but insisted it was vital to tackle air pollution.

For petrol cars to meet Ulez standards – based on emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter – they must generally have been first registered after 2005.

Most diesel cars registered after September 2015 are also exempt from the charge.

Drivers who enter the zone in a non-compliant vehicle are required to pay a £12.50 daily fee unless they are exempt, such as taxis or transport for disabled people.

Failing to pay the charge by midnight on the third day following a journey risks incurring a fine.

TfL initially sent warning letters to vehicle owners for non-payment following Ulez expansion but began issuing PCNs on September 26 last year.

The transport body’s figures do not show how many PCNs were paid, and in what timeframe.

Failure to pay a PCN or make a representation within 28 days leads to the sum increasing to £270.

TfL says it can eventually use bailiffs to “recover monies owed” and warns their fees – which are passed on to drivers – may “run into many hundreds of pounds”.

An anti-Ulez Facebook group with more than 45,000 members urges people to refuse to pay Ulez PCNs, and praises vandalism of the scheme’s enforcement cameras.

AA head of roads policy Jack Cousens described the amount of fines as “astonishing” and claimed it will “reinforce concerns” that the Ulez was expanded to generate income for the mayor.

He said: “The ruthlessness of enforcement when a first-time warning letter might achieve the desired effect for most motorists, especially those living outside the zone, remains an issue.

“Ulez signage has been accused of not giving enough direction to drivers unfamiliar with those roads.”

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: “These eye-watering numbers beg the question whether the rules and consequences of the ultra-low emission zone are clear enough, particularly to those not routinely driving into London.

“If the objective is compliance to deliver cleaner air then TfL needs both to focus on whether its messaging is sufficiently clear, and whether the 14 million payments it received for non-compliant vehicles is saying something inconvenient about the economics and practicality of getting more drivers into more modern, more expensive but cleaner vehicles.”

Research published by City Hall in July found that NOx emissions from cars in outer London were 13% below a scenario where the Ulez was not expanded.

The report into the impact of Ulez expansion during the first six months found the proportion of compliant vehicles being used on the capital’s roads in February was 96.2%, up from 91.6% in June 2023.

TfL insisted all the signs required for enforcing the scheme meet Department for Transport standards and guidelines.

Alex Williams, chief customer and strategy officer for TfL, said the zone was expanded to tackle “the triple challenges of air pollution, the climate emergency and traffic congestion”.

He went on: “Any income generated from the scheme is being reinvested back into public transport, including improving bus routes in outer London.

“The expanded Ulez will lead to cleaner air while generating ever smaller net revenues, as has been the case with the previous expansion to inner London where people switched to greener vehicles.”