ULEZ generated £224m last year

By Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) last year generated more than £220million, it has been revealed.

A total of £224,633,003 was raised, with roughly a third of the money coming from penalty charge notices (PCNs), with the rest from daily charge payments.

Transport for London (TfL) said the money is being used to cover “set-up costs” for the ULEZ expansion and “running and improving” the rest of London’s transport network.

The zone is set to expand on August 29 to cover the whole of Greater London.

Any vehicle driven within the zone must meet ULEZ emission standards, or pay a £12.50 daily charge. Failure to pay incurs a PCN of £180, although this figure is reduced to £90 if paid within a fortnight.

Last year, £151.3million was generated through daily charges, with £73.3million in PCNs.

A spokeswoman for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said earlier this month: “The ULEZ is not designed to be a money-making scheme and within a few years, as compliance increases, it will make a net loss — any net proceeds are ring-fenced and reinvested into London’s transport network.”

ULEZ was launched in April 2019, covering the same area as the existing central London congestion zone. In October 2021, the zone expanded to reach the North and South Circular road – significantly increasing the pool of potentially affected drivers.

It was shortly after that expansion, in December 2021, when the ULEZ made its highest amount of money in a single month – taking in close to £28million.

Since then however, the income has steadily declined. TfL says this is due to people making the transition to low-emission vehicles.

Nick Rogers AM, City Hall Conservative transport spokesman, said: “Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion takes money from charities, small businesses and people on low incomes, while doing next to nothing to improve air quality.

“The figures released today show once again that Sadiq Khan is more interested in making money than he is in tackling air pollution.”

Mr Khan has said that the ULEZ expansion will allow five million Londoners to breathe cleaner air, and save lives in the process. A £110m scrappage scheme was put in place earlier this year, to enable small businesses, charities and Londoners on low incomes to apply for grants towards the cost of ULEZ-compliant vehicles.

(Picture: TfL)