Request ID: FOI-1345-2324 Date published: 23 August 2023
You asked
Can you provide the actual number of vehicles that have used the ULEZ webpage to check their vehicle in 2022 that are;
Exempt from the ULEZ charge
That have to pay ULEZ charge
Do you have a list of all registered vehicles that have to pay ULEZ and if so, how many?
Do you have a compiled list of registered vehicles exempt from the ULEZ charge, and if so how many?
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-1345-2324
Thank you for your request received on 29 July 2023 asking for information about exempt Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) vehicles. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked: Can you provide the actual number of vehicles that have used the ULEZ webpage to check their vehicle in 2022 that are: • Exempt from the ULEZ charge • That have to pay ULEZ charge We do not hold this information as we do not record who uses the compliance checker and what vehicle registrations they enter into it.
Do you have a list of all registered vehicles that have to pay ULEZ and if so, how many?
In order to establish whether a vehicle is compliant with the ULEZ emission standards we predominantly use the vehicle data held by the DVLA. In most cases we can establish a vehicle’s compliance status by the date it was first registered as new. We know that all diesel cars first registered as new after 1 September 2015, and all petrol cars first registered as new after 1 January 2006 are automatically compliant with the ULEZ standards. This is because there was a legal requirement to manufacture vehicles to these standards as of these dates.
Using the data provided by the DVLA we have developed a compliance database which lists the compliance status of all UK registered vehicles. This is not a live link to the DVLA data; rather a static list of vehicles which is refreshed with new updated DVLA data every month. By updating the list regularly it ensures any update to vehicle information held by the DVLA is reflected on our database soon afterwards.
It is important to note that our database contains information on vehicles which have been registered since the ULEZ first launched in April 2019. Therefore it includes vehicles which may have since been scrapped or Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) and are therefore no longer being used.
As of 4 August there are 69,032,771 vehicles on our database and 24,081,084 of these are listed as being non-compliant. It is important to note that the vehicles on the database are from all across the whole country so many will not be driven regularly, or at all, in London. Only those non-compliant vehicles that are driven in the ULEZ have to pay the charge. In a small minority of instances, the information held by the DVLA may not allow TfL to establish whether a vehicle is compliant. Therefore, we have established a registration process through which motorists may contact us and update their vehicle’s compliance status should they believe it to be incorrect. Full details of the procedure is available on our website at: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/compliance-registration/before-you-start. The most recent data shows that 95.3% of vehicles being driven in the existing ULEZ are compliant, with around 25,000 vehicles paying the charge daily. Full details are available in our quarterly ULEZ fact sheets. These can be found on our website: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/ultra-low-emission-zone#on-this-page-6 Do you have a compiled list of registered vehicles exempt from the ULEZ charge, and if so how many? We do not hold this information. Some vehicles are exempt based on their tax class and this is recorded by the DVLA rather than TfL. 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.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
