Good morning, I am looking for information on the number of private vehicles (privately owned and/or private hire) that are exempt from the Congestion Charge Zone and/or ULEZ from the 1st January 2019. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

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Our ref: FOI-0251-2021

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 21 May 2020 asking for information about Private vehicles exempt from the Congestion Charge and/or ULEZ.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold some of the information you require.

We do not hold information on the number of private vehicles that are exempt from the Congestion Charge Zone and/or ULEZ. Vehicle type is information held by the DVLA and not TfL, and the information we hold is not held in enough detail to identify private vehicles.

There are no exemptions specifically for private hire vehicles (PHVs) from the Congestion Charge or Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

They are however entitled to the usual exemptions from both schemes, details of which are available on our website at https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge/discounts-and-exemptions & https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/discounts-and-exemptions#on-this-page-1. We are unable to identify whether a vehicle entitled to one of these exemptions is also licensed as a PHV.

Designated wheelchair-accessible PHVs have been granted a ULEZ grace period until 26 October 2025 - during this period designated wheelchair-accessible PHVs used to carry out a private hire booking will be exempt from the ULEZ daily charge.

These vehicles will only be exempt when carrying out a private hire booking for a TfL-licensed PHV operator. At all other times PHV owners will have to pay the charge if their designated wheelchair-accessible PHV does not meet the emissions standards and is not in the disabled or disabled passenger vehicle tax class. As of 20 May 2020 there were 553 wheelchair accessible PHVs licensed with TfL.

If this is not the information you are looking for, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please note, the Government has announced a series of measures to tackle the coronavirus. It is essential for London, that we continue to provide a safe transport network for essential journeys.

In current circumstances, we are not able to answer FOI requests readily and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.

Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the current situation.

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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