Mobile TfL ULEZ cameras could be used to stop rat running, says Sadiq Khan

Sadiq Khan confirmed Transport for London (TfL) is “very confident” it will have enough cameras installed to enforce the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion, with mobile cameras potentially to form part of its network.

The mayor said while he can’t confirm mobile cameras will be used, they were deployed when introducing previous road user charging schemes, such as the Congestion Charge, to prevent rat running.

During yesterday’s Mayor’s Question Time (July 20), Mr Khan told the chamber a “very small minority” of people have been subjecting new cameras to criminal damage, but that, having taken advice from the Met Police, TfL will not be releasing data on how many have been vandalised.

Conservative Assembly Member (AM) Peter Fortune later asked, given the fact cameras were being damaged, whether Mr Khan is “confident” the network required will be in-place by the expansion launch date “to have a feasible scheme”.

The mayor clarified TfL is “very confident, not just in the steps leading up to August 29, but also thereafter as well”.

He warned against publicising particular details regarding the cameras, such as their locations, due to concerns it could encourage further vandalism, a point previously raised by TfL’s barrister at a recent High Court hearing into the legality of the expansion.

Mr Khan also said “mobile cameras” could be used to try and prevent rat running, which is when drivers attempt to travel through gaps in the network to avoid having to pay the £12.50 charge for non-compliant vehicles.

He said: “With the congestion charge, if you remember, there were possibilities of working around and not being caught by the cameras, if you remember. And so, I remember, from memory, when the congestion charge first came in, there were mobile cameras as well.

“And so, if that was your concern in relation to loopholes or routes and stuff, TfL, it’s not their first rodeo, they’ve done this before in relation to those sorts of schemes.”

A decision is due to be handed down from the High Court by the end of this month, after a two-day hearing in which five Conservative councils challenged the legality of the expansion.

The Conservative mayoral candidate, Susan Hall, also an AM, has said she will stop the expansion from day one if she wins next May’s election.