ULEZ: Number of fines issued in each London borough after TfL scheme’s expansion

Data released by City Hall has revealed the number of fines issued to London drivers after the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

The ULEZ enforces a daily £12.50 charge for driving older, more polluting vehicles which do not meet emissions standards - previously only covered the area within the North and South Circular roads. It was expanded by the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to cover Greater London on August 29 2023.

Transport for London (TfL) may issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) if motorists drive within the ULEZ in a vehicle that does not meet the emissions standards and do not pay the daily charge.

After the scheme was expanded to outer London, warnings were given for the first six weeks. Then 97,786 PCNs were handed out between September 26 2023 and November 11 2023. This was up from the 79,271 handed out in the six weeks before the scheme’s expansion.

The figures were provided to Conservative mayoral candidate and London Assembly member Susan Hall in response to a question asked to Sadiq Khan during the Mayor’s Question time last November.

The area where the most were given out by TfL after the zone was expanded was Enfield, with 7,386 - up from 6,445. This was followed by Hillingdon where the number of fines soared from 1,655 to 6,397.

Third on this list is Croydon which saw an increase from 2,804 to 6,192.

Borough by borough breakdown of fines

These figures show the number of fines issued to drivers from each borough from July 17 to August 28 2023 (before the final ULEZ expansion) and from September 26 to November 6 (after the final ULEZ expansion).

• Barking and Dagenham: 3,304 up to 5,222
• Barnet: 3,253 down to 4,042
• Bexley: 1,696 up to 2,624
• Brent: 4,632 down to 4,136
• Bromley 1,620 up to 2,835
• Camden: 1,011 down to 620
• City of London: 67 down to 59
• Croydon: 2,804 up to 6,192
• Ealing: 2,859 up to 3,584
• Enfield: 6,445 up to 7,386
• Greenwich: 2,983 down to 2,828
• Hackney: 2,604 down to 1,698
• Hammersmith and Fulham: 1,036 down to739
• Haringey: 5,972 down to 4,389
• Harrow: 1,976 up to 4,272
• Havering: 1,605 up to 4,323
• Hillingdon: 1,655 up to 6,397
• Hounslow: 1,454 up to 4,631
• Islington: 1,563 down to 1,041
• Kensington and Chelsea: 1,033 down to 605
• Kingston upon Thames:516 up to 2,170
• Lambeth: 2,344 down to 1,982
• Lewisham: 2,731 down to 2,501
• Merton: 1,026 up to 2,510
• Newham: 5,921 down to 3,967
• Redbridge: 4,058 up to 4,500
• Richmond upon Thames: 465 up to 1,194
• Southwark: 2,402 down to 1,504
• Sutton: 751 up to 2,734
• Tower Hamlets: 2,922 down to 1,721
• Waltham Forest: 3,602 down to 3,159
• Wandsworth:1,328 down to1,220
• Westminster: 1,633 down to 1,001

Mayor of London

A spokesperson for the mayor of London said “The ULEZ will actually make a net loss within a few years as compliance increases. All revenue raised is currently ring fenced and reinvested back into London’s transport network, like increasing bus services in outer London.

“The ULEZ has proven to be highly effective and is helping to tackle toxic air pollution and protect the health of Londoners. 95% of all vehicles seen driving in London on an average day now meet clean air standards and do not need to pay the ULEZ charge. For the remaining very small minority of Londoners still driving non-compliant vehicles, millions of pounds of scrappage scheme support is still available from the Mayor’s £160m fund.”

A month on from the London-wide ULEZ expansion, TfL said data showed that 95% of vehicles seen in the ULEZ on an average day were ULEZ compliant, with 2.9% of vehicles liable for a charge. Motorists can sign up to TfL’s Auto Pay for free to pay the ULEZ charge.