Request ID: FOI-0617-2324 Date published: 23 June 2023
You asked
I understand that TfL has obtained access to the DVLA vehicle registration database to obtain details of every vehicle which is registered to an address within any of the London Boroughs and for which the DVLA registration details of that vehicle indicate that it will not be ULEZ emissions compliant. This data search presumably included all motorised vehicles (ie. cars, motorcycles, mopeds, vans, lorries, other commercial vehicles etc..) which are registered with DVLA and are non-ULEZ emissions compliant and registered to an address within any London Borough.
I therefore now make a new formal FOI request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and must insist that you fully and accurately answer each of the following five questions within the statutory 20 working day timescale permitted for formal responses under the Act :
[1.] How many generic notification letters similar in format to that sent to me (copy attached) have TfL issued in total to date?
[2.] If the process of issuing of these initial notification letters is not yet finished, how many such notification letters are still to be issued?
[3.] How many such initial notification letters will TfL send out in total (I assume that this will be the sum total of the figures you provide for [1.] + [2.])?
[4.] Please confirm precisely how many in total of each class of the following vehicles on DVLA database are both (a) non-ULEZ emissions compliant and
(b) registered to an address within any of the London Boroughs :
(i) combined total for all mopeds/motorcycles/tricycles that are non-ULEZ emissions compliant and registered to an address within a London Borough
(ii) combined total for all passenger vehicles/cars that are non-ULEZ emissions compliant and registered to an address within a London Borough
(iii) combined total for all commercial vehicles that are non-ULEZ emissions compliant and registered to an address within a London Borough (including
all light goods vehicles/heavy goods vehicles/vans/lorries/minibuses/coaches/buses/emergency services vehicles/ambulances/fire engines/police
cars/vans/horseboxes etc..)/mobile cranes/road rollers/breakdown trucks/road diggers/snowploughs/motorhomes/tractors and other agricultural
vehicles/haulage trucks/horseboxes etc.. etc.).
[5.] I assume that the figure you provide in answer to [3.] above will equal the sum total of the figures that you provide for [4.](i) + [4.](ii) + [4.](iii) above.
If not, please explain any difference, and why TfL are not issuing letters in respect of every non-ULEZ emissions compliant vehicle registered to an address within the London Boroughs.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0617-2324
Thank you for your request received on 30 May 2023 asking for information about the recently issued Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) letter. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require.
TfL is writing via the DVLA to the registered keepers of non-compliant vehicles seen being driven in the outer London area which will form part of the expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone from 29 August 2023. Having identified the vehicles likely to be affected by this change, TfL has asked the DVLA to send these letters on our behalf. The letter provides information on the vehicle’s compliance status, the options available to vehicle owners including the scrappage scheme, grace periods and how the scheme operates including how to pay. The DVLA do not share registered keeper data with TfL or any third party for this purpose, and TfL does not know to whom or where these letters have been sent.
The letters form part of a large-scale multi-channel information campaign to raise awareness and to encourage vehicle checking with messaging running on TV, video on demand, radio, local and pan-London press, national specialist press e.g. What Van and What Car, and national press, a radio and newspaper content partnership, digital display, messaging on Waze, a wayfinding app, social, roadside posters and petrol pump nozzle advertising. Emails are also being sent to customers registered to TfL’s database and leaflets are being distributed via a door drop and face to face leafleting activity at high footfall locations such as high streets, in outer London boroughs.
You asked:
1. How many generic notification letters similar in format to that sent to me (copy attached) have TfL issued in total to date?
TfL has not issued any generic notification letters. As of 5 June 2023, TfL have issued 325,923 letters via the DVLA to the registered keepers of non-compliant vehicles identified driving within the forthcoming expansion area.
2. If the process of issuing of these initial notification letters is not yet finished, how many such notification letters are still to be issued?
The process of issuing further letters to registered keepers of non-compliant vehicles seen driving in outer London is not yet complete. TfL is unable to advise the total number of letters still to be issued to registered keepers as this will depend on the number of vehicles seen being driven within and identified within the expansion area in advance of 29 August 2023.
3. How many such initial notification letters will TfL send out in total (I assume that this will be the sum total of the figures you provide for [1.] + [2.])?
The total number of letters to be sent will depend on the number of vehicles seen driving within the expansion area in advance of 29 August 2023.
4. Please confirm precisely how many in total of each class of the following vehicles on DVLA database are both a. non-ULEZ emissions compliant and b. registered to an address within any of the London Boroughs:
i. combined total for all mopeds/motorcycles/tricycles that are non-ULEZ emissions compliant and registered to an address within a London Borough ii. combined total for all passenger vehicles/cars that are non-ULEZ emissions compliant and registered to an address within a London Borough iii. combined total for all commercial vehicles that are non-ULEZ emissions compliant and registered to an address within a London Borough (including all light goods vehicles/heavy goods vehicles/vans/lorries/minibuses/coaches/buses/emergency services vehicles/ambulances/fire engines/police cars/vans/horseboxes etc..)/mobile cranes/road rollers/breakdown trucks/road diggers/snowploughs/motorhomes/tractors and other agricultural vehicles/haulage trucks/horseboxes etc.. etc.) The DVLA is a national database which is not owned by TfL. TfL has access to the data for the purpose of vehicle checking to understand whether a vehicle meets the ULEZ standards. For this purpose, TfL does not access any fields that identify addresses so we are unable to advise how many of those vehicles are registered to an outer London address and so are unable to provide that breakdown. If you require more information about what the DVLA database contains re class of vehicles please contact the DVLA.
5. I assume that the figure you provide in answer to [3.] above will equal the sum total of the figures that you provide for [4.](i) + [4.](ii) + [4.](iii) above.
If not, please explain any difference, and why TfL are not issuing letters in respect of every non-ULEZ emissions compliant vehicle registered to an address within the London Boroughs.
Registered keeper data is held by the DVLA, not TfL, therefore TfL does not know where the letters have been sent and is unable to advise how many of these are to non-compliant vehicles registered to an address within the London boroughs. 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. Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
