Ulez chaos as three in five drivers refuse to pay Sadiq Khan's daily charge with TfL chasing millions in fines
TfL could be owed as much as £218million in fines
PA
More than three out of five drivers have not paid a Ulez fine since the scheme was expanded last year, according to data from Transport for London.
Since the Ulez boundary widened to cover the whole of London in August last year, motorists have been avoiding paying the penalties for driving a non-compliant car.
In total, out of the 1,348,938 penalties issued since the expansion, 974,590 have still not been paid.
Out of the outstanding tickets, 200 have been issued to a single vehicle with total costs topping £47,682, based on data from a Freedom of Information request.
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Drivers of non-compliant cars must pay a £12.50 daily fee
PAThe total amount in fines for breaching Ulez rules is roughly £218 million with Transport for London warning that unpaid PCNs are passed on to debt recovery services and can lead to further action.
Under the current Ulez rules, drivers of non-compliant cars are charged £12.50 daily for entering the zone.
To be Ulez-compliant petrol cars must meet Euro 4 emissions targets while diesel cars must adhere to Euro 6 emissions.
Petrol cars that meet the standards are generally those first registered as new with the DVLA after 2005, although cars that meet the standards have been available since 2001.
As for diesel cars, they meet the standards if first registered with the DVLA as new after September 2015. Electric cars and many hybrid models, however, are exempt from the fines.
If drivers fail to pay the daily fee they could be fined £180, which is reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.
TfL detailed: “On receipt of a PCN a motorist has 28 days to pay the PCN or to make a representation challenging the penalty.
“When the representation is accepted the PCN is cancelled. If the representation is rejected, the motorist is granted a further opportunity to pay the PCN or appeal to the Independent Adjudicator at London Tribunals.”
Between August 2023 and March 2024, Transport for London generated over £115million from Ulez charges on drivers.
Prior to the expansion of Ulez, over four million PCNs were issued to more than 1.25 million vehicles which breached the emissions rules.
Of these 42.8 per cent (156,417) vehicles have still yet to pay the charges issued to them by TfL.
Ulez was launched in 2019 to cover central London through the Congestion Charging zone. During this time TfL said it issued warning notices rather than PCNs to drivers.
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The ULEZ scheme expanded at the end of August last year to cover the whole of London
PAThe scheme was suspended from March to May 2020 in response to the Covid 19 pandemic. In October 2021 Ulez was expanded to cover the area up to but not including the North and South Circular roads.
A TfL spokesperson told GB News: “Data shows that more than 95 per cent of vehicles seen in the ULEZ on an average day are ULEZ compliant. The ULEZ is not about making money. It 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.
“If a customer receives a penalty charge notice they can pay the penalty at a 50 per cent discount within 14 days, or have up to 28 days to pay the penalty in full, or challenge the PCN by making a representation. Representations can be made on one of six grounds, and TfL also considers mitigating circumstances and uses its discretion in reaching a decision, including cancelling the fine.”