ULEZ: TfL publishes how much it expects the expansion to cost - and it’s millions less than originally thought

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion is likely to cost up to around £15 million less than originally estimated.

Sadiq Khan extended the clean-air zone from inner and central London to cover the whole of the capital on August 29 this year. From that date, most drivers of non-compliant vehicles have been liable to pay the £12.50 daily charge, in a bid to improve air quality.

A one-month report indicated the scheme had removed 45% of the most-polluting vehicles from London’s roads on an average day in September compared to June, and that the transport authority had received more than £23 million in charges in its first few weeks.

Estimates for the cost of rolling out the expansion, which included installing cameras, signage and advertising campaigns, were published in November 2022 to the tune of circa £159.5m. 

However, in response to a recent Freedom of Information (FoI) request, Transport for London (TfL) has indicated expenditure looks to have been cut to between £145m-£155m, which it puts down to the authority’s “fiscal prudence”.

A spokesperson told LondonWorld: “In November 2022 the estimated cost of expanding the ULEZ to the greater London boundary was £160m. Due to TfL’s fiscal prudence it is likely the final cost will be less than this.”

They added the London-wide ULEZ is anticipated to generate “up to £200m a year for the first two years,” which would cover the expansion costs.

This surplus however is expected to decline sharply, reaching nothing by 2026/27.

In previous FoI responses, TfL said the advertising spend on the ULEZ between January 1 and the end of July was £3,287,283.5, while the total cost for cameras and signage is estimated to be between £65m-£80m.

Almost 1,000 instances of damage or theft of ULEZ cameras have been recorded between April 1 and October 31, the Met Police announced earlier this week.

The data showed instances of vandalism reached a peak in August, when 507 offences were recorded. The latest figures suggest the rate dropped substantially in September and October, with 193 cases added to the Met's stats.