Transport for London has installed almost two-thirds of the 2,750 Ulez enforcement cameras it planned to erect in outer London, it can be revealed.
With just over a month to go until the zone is due to expand to the Greater London boundary, TfL contractors have installed 1,775 cameras – despite having to contend with widespread vandalism and the opposition of seven boroughs to having cameras erected on local roads.
The figures, from TfL commissioner Andy Lord, show preparations are reasonably well advanced for the zone’s widening on August 29, in line with Mayor Sadiq Khan’s wishes.
In a further boost to the mayor, latest TfL data shows that the proportion of vehicles complying with the Ulez emission rules in the existing zone has risen to 95.3 per cent – and 96.6 per cent for cars.
This shows how the £12.50-a-day clean air zone, which was introduced in central London in 2019 and expanded to the inner boundary of the North and South Circular roads in 2021, is succeeding in driving motorists to switch to “greener” vehicles.
It comes after a bruising fall-out from the Uxbridge by-election, in which defeated Labour candidate Danny Beales said the proposed Ulez expansion had “cut us off at the knees”.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that Labour was “doing something very wrong” if its policies were able to be used by the Tories to lose it votes.
But City Hall aides said that while Mr Khan was willing to consider additional measures to reduce the impact on low-income Londoners, he was not prepared to delay the zone’s widening or relax the enforcement rules.
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, whose daughter Ella was the first to have air pollution mentioned as a cause of death on her death certificate, told Sky News today: “I have spoken to Sadiq. He needs to remain firm.”
In an apparent swipe at Sir Keir, she criticised “weak leaders” but said the £110m Ulez scrappage scheme needed to be expanded.
"This is a matter of life and death".
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 24, 2023
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah's daughter was the first person to have "air pollution" listed as her cause of death.
She says she is "in no mood to compromise on ULEZ expansion".https://t.co/lsZOKHaRAg
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 pic.twitter.com/7kM7hetvRA
Eligibility will be widened from July 31, when London families in receipt of child benefit will be able to apply for £2,000 grants to upgrade their car.
Mr Khan is awaiting the decision of the High Court on whether the Ulez expansion is legal. A judgement is likely this week.
Mr Lord, in a report to Tuesday’s TfL board, said that 1,699 of the 1,750 new cameras and 1,669 road signs were in place, as of July 14. A TfL spokesman said on Monday the number had risen to 1,775.
He said TfL was “working closely” with the police and its contractors to reduce the risk of further vandalism. More than 200 cameras have been vandalised or stolen. Two people await crown court trials for alleged vandalism.
Last week Mr Khan said TfL would no longer reveal how many cameras had been targeted to avoid giving vandals the “oxygen of publicity”. He said TfL may use mobile cameras to plug any gaps in coverage.
He said TfL was “very confident” it would be able to enforce the Greater London expansion from August 29.
The 2,750 new cameras are in addition to 237 cameras in central London – covering the congestion charge zone – and about 1,156 cameras in inner London, up to the existing Ulez boundary.
Latest Ulez data: 95.3% of vehicles in current zone now comply with rules (and don’t have to pay), including 96.6% of cars.
— Ross Lydall (@RossLydall) July 24, 2023
Daily average of 25,727 drivers pay the £12.50 levy.
Average of 3,922 penalty fines (£180) issued each day.
Compliance rate up from 93.4% in a year. pic.twitter.com/9jJAuazzFz
The percentage of Ulez-compliant vehicles seen being driven daily within the current zone has increased from 93.4 per cent in March last year to 95.3 per cent in March.
Of these, 96.6 per cent of cars are compliant and do not have to pay the levy. But only 87.4 per cent of vans meet the exhaust emission standards.
An average of 42,575 vehicles a day were non-compliant in March. Of these, 25,727 paid the charge – down almost 10,000 a day on a year ago – while 3,922 (1,600 fewer than last year) were sent a £180 penalty. The remaining 12,926 vehicles were exempt.
Mr Lord admitted there was a “range of uncertainty” about how many vehicles would be liable to pay the Greater London Ulez.
A TfL analysis suggested that about one in five cars and almost one in two vans registered to addresses in outer London did not meet the emission rules.
TfL expects the expansion to generate between £100m and £300m a year but Mr Lord said a contingency fund had been established, in case income was less than expected.
