Information about congestion ULEZ fees collected for journeys not made
Request ID: FOI-1842-1920
Date published: 24 September 2019
You asked
I am interested in understanding how much revenue TFL makes from congestion and ULEZ charges unnecessarily paid by people who do not actually drive the relevant vehicle in the congestion charge / ULEZ zone on the relevant day
For each of the last 3 years (TFL can select whatever date each year starts in accordance with its internal accounts). Please provide details of
(i) No of vehicles for which a daily congestion/ULEZ charge has been paid for a vehicle on a date for which the vehicle did not enter the congestion/charge ULEZ zone
(ii) Revenue generated from the payments set out in (i) above
(iii) A breakdown of the above figures by when payment was made ie: (a) in advance of the relevant day, (ii) on the relevant day (iii) after the relevant day.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-1842-1920
Thank you for your email which we received on 19 September 2019 asking for information about journeys made to the Congestion Charge and ULEZ zones.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy.
Unfortunately we do not hold the information you have requested.
The ULEZ and Congestion Charge operate using Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology. As a vehicle enters, leaves or drives within the zone its registration is recorded along with a colour image of the vehicle. At the end of the next working day, when the payment period has expired, the list of vehicles observed in the zone is compared against those vehicles for which a charge has been paid, meet the standards, are exempt from the charge or registered on an Auto Pay account. Where a match is found the image and record of the specific vehicle is deleted. If no match is found the details are retained for enforcement purposes.
As the records of all vehicles which have paid the daily charge are deleted we do not keep a record of when a payment has been made but the vehicle wasn’t actually driven in the zone.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Eva Hextall
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
Back to top
