Request ID: FOI-2747-2122 Date published: 25 March 2022
You asked
I’m seeking the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The data I would like to request covers penalty charge notices (PCNs) for the Congestion Charge and the Ultra Low Emission Zone.
My request is based on the issue of car cloning – where criminals use another vehicle’s identity/registration plate to disguise the identity of their own.
1) How many PCNs were issued to drivers by TfL for failing to pay the Congestion Charge for the following timeframes:
• 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2022 to 28 February 2022. Please could you provide a year to date total and a month by month breakdown (if available).
2) How many of the PCNs issued to drivers by TfL for failing to pay the Congestion Charge were cancelled by TfL on the grounds the vehicle was cloned? Please could you give figures for the following timeframes:
• 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2022 to 28 February 2022. Please could you provide a year to date total and a month by month breakdown (if available).
3) How many PCNs were issued to drivers by TfL for failing to pay the Ultra Low Emission Zone charge? Please could you give figures for the following timeframes:
• 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2022 to 28 February 2022. Please could you provide a year to date total and a month by month breakdown (if available).
4) How many of the PCNs issued to drivers by TfL for failing to pay the Ultra Low Emission Zone were cancelled by TfL on the grounds the vehicle was cloned? Please could you give figures for the following timeframes:
• 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2022 to 28 February 2022. Please could you provide a year to date total and a month by month breakdown (if available).
5) How many of the PCNs issued to drivers by TfL were on the grounds the vehicle did not meet the ULEZ emissions standards? Please could you give figures for the following timeframes:
• 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. Please could you provide a total for the year and a month by month breakdown.
• 1 January 2022 to 28 February 2022. Please could you provide a year to date total and a month by month breakdown (if available).
6) How much revenue was raised from Congestion Charge payments for the following timeframes:
• 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019
• 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020
• 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021
• 1 January 2022 to 28 February 2022 (if available)
7) How much revenue was raised from ULEZ payments for the following timeframes:
• 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019
• 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020
• 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021
• 1 January 2022 to 28 February 2022 (if available)
8) How much revenue was raised from PCNs for the Congestion Charge for the following timeframes:
• 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019
• 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020
• 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021
• 1 January 2022 to 28 February 2022 (if available)
9) How much revenue was raised from PCNs for the Ultra Low Emission Zone for the following timeframes:
•
• 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019
• 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020
• 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021
• 1 January 2022 to 28 February 2022 (if available)
I would like this information as a data set (ideally Microsoft Excel). If some parts of this request are easier to answer than others, I would ask that you release the available data as soon as possible. If you need any clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me before the deadline.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-2747-2122/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 1 March 2022 asking for information about Congestion Charge and ULEZ PCNs.
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.
The Ultra Low Emission Zone and Congestion Charge operate through Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology. As a vehicle enters, leave or drives within the zone the registration, along with an image of the vehicle, is recorded by an ANPR camera. At the end of the charge payment period the list of registrations observed in the zone is compared with the list of vehicles which have had the charge paid, or are exempt or 100% discounted from the charge. Where a match is found the image of the vehicle is deleted. Where no match is found the image is retained for enforcement purposes.
We then contact the DVLA to obtain details of the registered keeper and the vehicle make and model details. Prior to issuing a penalty we verify that the vehicle details provided by the DVLA match the image of the vehicle which we have. Where there is a match a PCN is issued. If the vehicle description provided by the DVLA doesn’t match the image of the vehicle which we have, a PCN will not be issued.
On receipt of a penalty a motorist has a statutory right to challenge the penalty by submitting a representation to us. If a motorist contacts us stating that the penalty has been issued due to the vehicle being cloned, we ask for evidence to support this. On receipt of satisfactory evidence the representation will be accepted and the PCN cancelled.
If no evidence is provided, or we are unable to verify the claim that the vehicle has been cloned, the representation will be rejected. When a representation is rejected the motorist is granted a right of appeal to an Independent Adjudicator at London Tribunals.
The spreadsheet attached gives the information you have requested. Please note that all PCNs issued for the ULEZ are due to a vehicle not meeting the emissions standards. Therefore Question 5 is the same as question 3.
In addition please find some information below regarding your request:
Figures are total PCNs cancelled. One vehicle reported as cloned may result in several PCNs being cancelled.
CC and ULEZ were both suspended between 23 March and 18 May 2020 due to COVID19.
CC charge does not apply between Christmas and New Year.
ULEZ was introduced on 8 April 2019 and an initial period applied where we issued warning letters in place of PCNs between 08 April to 10 May 2019.
ULEZ expanded on 25 October 2021 and again a period applied where we issued warning letters in place of PCNs from 25 October until 22 November.
All figures for money received for PCN payments are subject to change over time as PCNs progress according to the statutory process and can be paid at a later date.
On 22 June 2020 temporary changes to the Congestion Charge were introduced and the charging hours were extended. The charge was increased from £11.50 to £15 and the hours of operation extended from 07:00 – 18:00 Mon – Fri to 07:00 – 22:00 Mon-Sun.
