Request ID: FOI-0319-2223 Date published: 06 June 2022
You asked
I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request information from Transport for London.
Background
I recently received two PCNs for travelling into and out of Greenwich to visit my daughter and, although I saw the ULEZ signs, I did not recall seeing any information that indicated I should check if my vehicle was subject to a charge and that I would have 3 days to pay. When the scheme was expanded the Mayor of London advised:
“Recognising people might make genuine mistakes in the first few weeks of a new scheme TfL issued warning notices for drivers of ULEZ non-compliant vehicles on the first offence during the first month.”
After expressing my disappointment to TfL I have received a response that contained the following phrase:
“If you have received a warning please remember to pay all charges next time or this will result in a PCN dated 11 May 22”.
I have taken advice on this, and both these statements are a clear acceptance by the authority that the signage on the roads does not provide sufficient information that motorists can be reasonably expected to comply with the requirements of the scheme.
FOI request
1. TfL have asserted that the extensive advertising campaign and other activities should have alerted motorists to the requirements of the expanded ULEZ. Please provide details of TfL’s activities that could have been reasonably expected to educate residents of Hampshire to the requirements of the ULEZ expanded scheme.
2. Please provide the internal TfL correspondence that concluded that additional signage advising that motorists should check if they would be subject to a charge was not required.
3. After receiving an email that indicates that warnings are still being issued - see above. Please provide the TfL criteria for deciding a warning is issued for the first failure to pay rather than a PCN.
4. I am aware that the Mayor’s office has produced copious statistics on the no. of vehicles, no. of fines etc. so hopefully the following data won’t be too difficult to collate. Please provide the following:
For motorists that reside in Greater London
a. The number of warnings issued in the first month of the scheme for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ;
b. The number of PCNs issued in the first month of the scheme for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ;
c. The number of motorists in the first month of the scheme who did pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ;
d. The number of warnings issued after the first month of the scheme to date for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ;
e. The number of PCNs issued after the first month of the scheme to date for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ;
f. The number of motorists after the first month of the scheme to date who did pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ
For motorists that reside outside Greater London
a. The number of warnings issued in the first month of the scheme for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ;
b. The number of PCNs issued in the first month of the scheme for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ;
c. The number of motorists in the first month of the scheme who did pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ;
d. The number of warnings issued after the first month of the scheme to date for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ;
e. The number of PCNs issued after the first month of the scheme to date for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ;
f. The number of motorists after the first month of the scheme to date who did pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ
I am content for the information to be provided in electronic or paper format.
If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request.
If you can identify any ways that my request can be refined, or if the information is already in the public domain, I would be grateful for any further advice and assistance.
If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact me via email of phone and I will be very happy to clarify what I am asking for and discuss the request.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-0319-2223
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 11th May 2022 asking for information about the expanded ULEZ scheme.
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. Your questions are answered in turn below:
Question 1. TfL have asserted that the extensive advertising campaign and other activities should have alerted motorists to the requirements of the expanded ULEZ. Please provide details of TfL’s activities that could have been reasonably expected to educate residents of Hampshire to the requirements of the ULEZ expanded scheme.
Answer: The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion covering all areas within the North and South Circular Roads was implemented on 25 October 2021. In advance of the expansion, TfL launched a large-scale multi-channel information campaign on 5 October 2020 targeting both private and commercial vehicle owners in London and the surrounding areas with the aim of raising awareness of the expansion. Advertising continued to run after 25 October 2021. The advertising channels we used which had a reach beyond London were radio, TV, video on demand and national specialist press titles. We did not run advertising in channels specifically reaching Hampshire as we had to focus our efforts on using channels that would cost effectively reach as many drivers as possible. A number of press releases were issued during the course of the campaign and they achieved widespread coverage. Articles appeared in national broadsheets such as the Financial Times, The Times, Guardian and Independent. There were a series of media events that resulted in the BBC and ITV interviewing the Mayor of London about the ULEZ and it was discussed on BBC London Radio and LBC. The following advertising channels were used to raise awareness and provide detailed information about how the ULEZ operated including the daily charge and how to pay. supported by detailed information on the TfL website including a downloadable leaflet and maps:
Radio – from Oct 2021, radio advertising which has an overspill of 25-30 miles radius outside of London (subject to the terrain) ran on the following stations: Absolute Radio, Capital London, Gold London, Heart London, Jazz FM, Kiss (London and network), LBC, Magic and Radio X London, Sunrise and Smooth London. The map below shows the radio transmission area:
TV and video on demand (VOD) –from 4-24 Oct 2021we ran advertising on TV and VOD. Whilst the airtime was predominately aimed at London, ITV and Channel 4 airtime has an overspill of up to 50 miles outside of London subject to the terrain. The advert explained where the expanded zone would operate, the launch date and how to check your vehicle and appeared on ITV, Channel 4, London Live and video on demand channels. See below coverage maps.
ITV coverage map:
Channel 4 coverage map:
Specialist presstitles – adverts appeared in the following national titles from October: What Van? Business Car, Fleet World, Van Fleet World, Van User, Electrical Contracting News, Electrical Time Magazine, Heating and Plumbing Monthly, Motorcycle News, What Car? And Route One.
In addition, we ran advertising in other media channels focussed on the London region namely:
Pan London and regional press titles – adverts appeared in the Evening Standard and Metro and in the following regional press titles:Barnet Borough Times, Brent & Kilburn Times, Bromley & Lewisham News Shopper, Barking & Dagenham Post, Camden New Journal, Docklands & East London Advertiser, Enfield Independent, Greenwich Info, Richmond Times, Ilford & Woodford Recorder, Islington & Hackney Gazette, Islington Tribune, Newham & Stratford Recorder, Southwark News, Wandsworth & Wimbledon Times, West London Gazette, Wharf Life, KCW Today, Your Local Guardian.
Social media – social media adverts ran on Facebook and Instagram.
Roadside posters -these ran in London with adverts at key roadside locations, on bus shelters and large format cross-track posters on the tube from Oct 2020 – Dec 2021. Posters also appeared on the public transport network.
Google search adverts - directed those interested to the TfL website for further information and to check their vehicle using the online vehicle compliance checker.
Digital display adverts and online video – including London targeting via Waze, a wayfinding navigation app providing information to drivers of the new expanded boundary and where it operates. Online video also targeted London drivers via third party websites providing visual clarity on the area where the ULEZ expands up to.
Digital radio – targeted “London auto owners” and priority London boroughs with high levels of non-compliant vehicles. In addition to the advertising and before the expansion of the ULEZ on 25 Oct ’21, the following activity took place:
Letters - 1,068,486 letters sent to registered keepers of non-compliant vehicles seen in the zone via the DVLA during Jul, Aug, Sep and Oct 2021. TfL doesn’t hold details of the registered keepers, so we are unable to advise how many of these letters reached drivers outside London including Hampshire.
Emails - over 5 million emails were sent to customers registered on the TfL database from Oct 2020 – Oct 2021. During this period, c. 2.5m registered TfL customers who do not have a London Postcode associated with their TfL record were sent emails. In addition, over 2 million emails were sent to registered customers on the TfL database post the expansion of the ULEZ
Leaflet door drop - 633,659 leaflets were distributed from 11-28 Jan 2021 to residents living within a 1.1km radius outside the boundary and 1.875km radius inside the boundary of the expanded zone.
Face to face leafleting – from 28 Aug – 15 Oct 2021, we distributed 80,000 leaflets across 22 London boroughs, focusing on visiting locations with high natural footfall.
Stakeholder engagement - meetings were held with national bodies including the RAC, AA, British Vehicle Rental and Licensing Association, British Retail Confederation, National Market Traders Federation, the Royal College of Nurses, the TUC, and most of these included pieces on the ULEZ expansion in their national and/or regional publications.
Signage – early warning signage was installed at entrances to the expanded zone between Jul and Sep 2021, explaining the ULEZ was coming on 25 Oct 2021. In addition, c.130 electronic variable message signs on main roads throughout London were in place two weeks ahead of the zone expanding to raise awareness of the start date of the scheme. These remained in place two weeks after the expansion, followed by permanent signage at every entry point along the boundary and along key arterial approaches.
Question 2. Please provide the internal TfL correspondence that concluded that additional signage advising that motorists should check if they would be subject to a charge was not required.
Answer: No such correspondence exists. All the signage conforms to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD). There is not enough space to place more information on the signs to enable drivers to safely read it while driving. Therefore, the signs make drivers aware of the presence of the scheme and it is then down to them to check the website and make the necessary payments. As with all other signage, and as stated in the Highway Code, it is down to motorists to comply with signage placed on the roads.
Question 3. After receiving an email that indicates that warnings are still being issued - see above. Please provide the TfL criteria for deciding a warning is issued for the first failure to pay rather than a PCN.
Answer: We issued warning notices instead of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) between 25 October 2021 and 21 November 2021. This was to make those entering the expanded zone without payment aware of the need to pay the daily charge. We issued PCNs from 22 November 2022. The letter you received was advising that we issued warning letters as a means of alerting people who were unaware to the presence of the charging zone. It does not state that they are still being issued.
Question 4:I am aware that the Mayor’s office has produced copious statistics on the no. of vehicles, no. of fines etc. so hopefully the following data won’t be too difficult to collate. Please provide the following:
For motorists that reside in Greater London
a. The number of warnings issued in the first month of the scheme for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ; b. The number of PCNs issued in the first month of the scheme for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ; c. The number of motorists in the first month of the scheme who did pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ; d. The number of warnings issued after the first month of the scheme to date for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ; e. The number of PCNs issued after the first month of the scheme to date for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ; f. The number of motorists after the first month of the scheme to date who did pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ
For motorists that reside outside Greater London
a. The number of warnings issued in the first month of the scheme for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ; b. The number of PCNs issued in the first month of the scheme for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ; c. The number of motorists in the first month of the scheme who did pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ; d. The number of warnings issued after the first month of the scheme to date for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ; e. The number of PCNs issued after the first month of the scheme to date for failure to pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ; f. The number of motorists after the first month of the scheme to date who did pay the charge within 3 days for the expanded ULEZ
Answer: See the tables below.
The number of valid charges paid by month is below. We do not hold a split of ULEZ valid charges paid by those inside or outside of Greater London.
Year / Month
Valid Charges
2021
Oct
336,524
Nov
1,342,093
Dec
1,169,828
Total
2,848,445
2022
Jan
1,071,968
Feb
1,045,141
Mar
1,163,563
Apr
1,039,243
May
949,961
Total
5,269,876
Grand Total
8,118,321
Th number of Warning Notices issued is below:
Year / Month
Warning Notices (WN)
London Borough
Not London Borough
Postcode Not Known
WN Grand Total
2021
50,089
74,190
1,398
125,677
Oct
24,744
26,773
1,390
52,907
Nov
25,345
47,417
8
72,770
Dec
0
0
0
0
2022
0
0
0
0
Jan
0
0
0
0
Feb
0
0
0
0
Mar
0
0
0
0
Apr
0
0
0
0
May
0
0
0
0
Grand Total
50,089
74,190
1,398
125,677
The number of Penalty Charge Notices PCNs) issued is below:
If this is not the information you are looking for 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,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
