Information on compliance with the ULEZ and number of non-complaint vehicles that are not being charged
Request ID: FOI-1759-2425 Date published: 18 September 2024
You asked
Can you provide:
The notes of any discussions and meetings on the level of non-compliant vehicles that are not being charged and the reasons for this.
We answered
TfL Refs: EIR-1758-2425 to EIR-1763-2425
Thank you for your requests – detailed underneath this reply - received by Transport for London (TfL) on 29th August 2024 asking for information about the ULEZ scheme.
Your requests have been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) and our information access policy.
When a vehicle enters the ULEZ it will be spotted by our network of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras. If a vehicle does not comply with the ULEZ standards then a charge is due, and this must be paid by midnight on the third day following the journey. If the charge is not paid in time then a Penalty Notice Charge (PCN) will be issued.
Given the above, it is not entirely clear what information you are requesting regarding “non-compliant vehicles that are not being charged”. If a non-compliant vehicle enters the zone and does not pay the charge, then it will be issued with a PCN. Details of the number of ULEZ PCNs issued is already published on our website via the following link:
Regarding your various requests for notes of meetings, these are being refused under section 12(4)(b) of the EIR on the basis that they are ‘manifestly unreasonable’. While we do not recognise the concern behind the requests (in that we do not believe that non-compliant vehicles are entering the zone and avoiding being charged or issued with a PCN, or that there are errors to this affect in the database) to source and review all of the meeting minutes and notes of discussions that may potentially exist is not something that can be done efficiently. The ULEZ scheme was first introduced over 5 years ago in April 2019, and the planning for it started several years before (the original ULEZ scheme was first confirmed in March 2015). It is not possible to source and search over 9 years worth of material to find any such notes / minutes that may exist in any reasonable timeframe, hence the application of the exception.
We consider that the appropriate public interest in scrutinising our operation and enforcement of the scheme with the publicly available information we have pointed you to and do not consider any weighty arguments supporting the carrying out of the significant task of collating and reviewing large volumes of material to ascertain what, if any, information may be held in relation to your request and then considering it for disclosure accordingly.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
