Hello, I would like answers to the following questions please: 1. Since the introduction of the increased cost and hours of operation of the Congestion Charge on 16 June 2020, please provide details of the number of vehicles entering the CC zone from 16 June – 30 June, the whole month of July and the whole month of August 2020, compared with the same time periods in 2019. 2. Since the introduction of the increased costs and hours of operation of the Congestion Charge on 16 June 2020, please provide details of the number of unpaid PCNs from 16 June 2020 to 31 August 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. 3. Since the introduction of the increased cost and hours of operation of the Congestion Charge on 16 June 2020, please provide details of the total revenue raised by the Congestion Charge in the period from 16 June to 31 August 2020, compared with the same time period in 2019. Please break down how much of this revenue was due to normal payment and how much was due to fines from those who did not pay when they entered the CC Zone. 4. Since the abolition of the resident’s discount on 01 August 2020, how many applications for a residents’ discount have been received and of those received how many have been rejected? Please confirm receipt of this request and the timescales within which I can expect a response.

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Our ref: FOI-1075-2021/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 11 September 2020 asking for information about Congestion Charging.

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 the information you require.

On 16 June 2020 the Mayor and TfL confirmed temporary changes to the Congestion Charge, would be brought forward in accordance with TfL's funding agreement with Government. Charging hours were increased from Monday – Friday 7am – 6pm to Monday-Sunday 7am – 10pm. The Congestion Charge was also increased from £11.50 to £15.  

These temporary changes will ensure the capital's recovery from the pandemic is not restricted by cars and congestion. Analysis showed that as the Government eased restrictions, and if people chose to drive instead of using public transport, car traffic in central London could double. Before the new arrangements, numbers in the evenings were almost as high as during the day, and levels at weekends were even higher than during the week.

Please note that the changes came into place on the 22 June and not the 16 June and so we have provided information from 22-30 June rather than from the 16 June throughout our response.

1. Since the introduction of the increased cost and hours of operation of the Congestion Charge on 16 June 2020, please provide details of the number of vehicles entering the CC zone from 16 June – 30 June, the whole month of July and the whole month of August 2020, compared with the same time periods in 2019.

The table below shows the total number of vehicles entering the charging zone during charging hours over the specified period.  This shows the total of unique vehicle registrations entering the zone each day. Therefore if a vehicle entered the zone on three different charging days, during the specified period,  it is counted three times.

It should be noted that for the 2020 period charging hours were Monday-Sunday 7am – 10pm and for 2019 they were Monday – Friday 7am – 6pm. It is reasonable to expect there to be more vehicles in the zone during the extended hours.  

	2019	2020
22-30 June	807,165	1,153,365
July	3,609,022	4,190,320
August	3,161,455	4,093,717

2. Since the introduction of the increased costs and hours of operation of the Congestion Charge on 16 June 2020, please provide details of the number of unpaid PCNs from 16 June 2020 to 31 August 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.

The table below shows the number of PCNs issued, and those which remain open, for contraventions between 22 June and 31 August in 2019 and 2020. The number of open PCNs will reduce over time as more penalties are paid.

		2019			2020
		PCNs Issued	PCNs Open		PCNs Issued	PCNs Open
22-30 June		14,904	4,099		26,994	6,595
July		73,864	19,372		140,487	39,157
August		64,408	17,373		152,819	49,407

1. Since the introduction of the increased cost and hours of operation of the Congestion Charge on 16 June 2020, please provide details of the total revenue raised by the Congestion Charge in the period from 16 June to 31 August 2020, compared with the same time period in 2019. Please break down how much of this revenue was due to normal payment and how much was due to fines from those who did not pay when they entered the CC Zone.  

Please see the table below:

	22 May - 14 September 2019	31 May - 19 September 2020
Charge income (£m)	50.4	72.8
Enforcement income (£m)	17.7	25.6
Total (£m)	68.1	98.3

We report income on a four weekly periodic basis.  The date range 22 June to 31 August 2020 is covered by periods 3 to 6, which for 2020 comprises 31 May to 19 September 2020. The comparable reporting periods for 2019 is the date range 22 May – 14 September.

Due to the reporting of additional income on unpaid penalty charge notices as they progress through the enforcement stages, the enforcement income reported includes income related to journeys undertaken in earlier periods.

4. Since the abolition of the resident’s discount on 01 August 2020, how many applications for a residents’ discount have been received and of those received how many have been rejected?

No new applications have been made since 1 August as the link to apply was removed from the website following the decision not to accept any further applications.

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

If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted 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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