London drivers pay more than £70m in Ulez fines

More than £70m has been paid in penalty charge notices (PCNs) by London's drivers from the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) in six years, official data shows.

Drivers in the borough of Croydon (£4m) paid more than any other since its introduction in 2019 followed by Hillingdon (£3.8m), Ealing (£3.7m) and Enfield (£3.5m).

Initially covering the Congestion Zone, Ulez was expanded in 2021 to cover the North and South Circular roads and widened again in 2023 to all of London.

A Transport for London (TfL) spokesperson said: "The Ulez is not about making money. Any income generated from the Ulez is being reinvested back into the public transport network, including improving bus routes in outer London."

Almost one million PCNs were issued by TfL in 2024, more than any other year, although about £2.4m was paid in refunds relating to Ulez between August 2020 and July 2024.

The figures come from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request which shows that £5.6m was paid in penalty charge notices in 2024, less than half of the £11.8m paid the year before.

The biggest year for fines was 2022 when £22.1m was paid out by drivers.

The figures do not cover PCNs issued to drivers outside of the 32 London boroughs.

Apart from the City of London (£58,000), drivers in the boroughs of Camden (£950,000), Kensington, Tower Hamlets and Hammersmith (all £1.2m) paid out the lowest amounts in penalty charge notices.

A TfL spokesperson added: "The expanded Ulez has led 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

"The most recent data shows that on average, more than 96% of vehicles seen driving in the Ulez are compliant.

"If a customer receives a PCN they can pay the penalty at a 50% discount within 14 days, or have up to 28 days to pay the penalty in full, or challenge the PCN by making a representation."

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