Hello, I am looking to find out how many fines were issued to drivers who went into the ULEZ on the 1st day of its operation (April 8) without paying the fee they should have. If possible, please let us know how many of these fines were issued to those driving 'heavier vehicles', which have to pay a higher fee, and how many to standard vehicles - do not delay the FOI if this second part can't be completed. Secondly, can you tell me how many vehicles went into the ULEZ on the first day of operation? If possible, can you break this down by vehicle type - heavier, and standard vehicle.

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TfL Ref: 0093-1920

Thank you for your email received by us on 9 April 2019 asking for information about ULEZ. I apologise for the delay in replying.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.  I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require.

London’s toxic air is a public health crisis and we’re committed to tackling it. The introduction of the ULEZ on 8 April 2019 and its expansion to the North and South Circulars in 2021 is not about making money, but about improving the health and wellbeing of thousands of Londoners.

Around half of London's air pollution is caused by road transport and there is no way to make a massive improvement to London’s air quality without taking the most polluting vehicles off the road. The majority of toxic road transport emissions come from cars, so we need to take action to encourage people to drive less and upgrade to cleaner vehicles

In terms of fines issued, we can confirm that no penalty charge notices were issued for 8 April for non-payment of the ULEZ charge. As for similar schemes, we issued a warning letter during the launch period to those who drove a polluting vehicle into the zone without paying the daily charge. The letter was sent out after the first contravention to ensure the correct action is taken in the future and to allow for any genuine mistakes that may have occurred.

In response to your second question, unfortunately we do not yet hold this information as it has not yet been collated and validated. The ULEZ is a brand new scheme which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The data that is captured by our cameras in and around the zone needs to be gathered and checked to ensure it is accurate. A large part of the work we are doing is to validate the validation process itself. We expect that we will have access to this information by the end of this month.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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