Nearly £6m in ULEZ fines charged to addresses in Berkshire since scheme launched, figures show

The scheme was extended last week.

Nearly £6m in ULEZ fines has been charged to addresses in Berkshire since the scheme launched, figures have revealed.

Data obtained from a Freedom of Information request to Transport for London (TfL) found that 91,148 Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) have been issued to Berkshire addresses since ULEZ started in 2019.

Over this time, £5,798,228 in payments for these charges was received.

PCNs can be issued to drivers who do not pay the required fee for driving in the ULEZ area by midnight on the third day following their journey.

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Motorists who drive in the ULEZ area are subject to a £12.50 charge per day if their vehicle does not meet emissions requirements.

The largest number of ULEZ penalties sent to Berkshire addresses came in 2022, when 40,622 PCNs were sent, gathering £2,498,820 in payments.

This is more than triple the 11,310 sent the previous year. October 2021 saw the zone expand from its initial central London boundaries to cover the area up to but not including the North and South circular roads.

ULEZ further expanded on August 29 this year to cover every Greater London borough - a move which has been met with fierce backlash from some motorists.

When the ULEZ was first introduced on April 8, 2019, it only covered the same area as the central London Congestion Charge zone.

Slough Borough Council's transport lead councillor Puja Bedi said: "TfL has issued over 91,000 individual ULEZ penalties and made nearly £6 million from PCNs across Berkshire since 2019.

"At a time of a cost-of-living crisis, residents across Berkshire are suffering due to the Mayor's ULEZ charges."

Sadiq Khan has insisted that ULEZ is a necessary measure to combat air pollution in the capital, but critics have lambasted the extra cost for motorists.

London residents with non-compliant vehicles have access to a scrappage scheme for switching to a greener car or bike, but Berkshire residents are not eligible.

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Cllr Bedi added: "The residents of Slough still do not have access to the ULEZ scrappage scheme, and I continue to call on the Mayor of London to extend this to the residents of Slough."

When the ULEZ was first introduced on April 8, 2019, it only covered the same area as the central London Congestion Charge zone.

On some occasions, TfL has opted to send warnings instead of PCNs to motorists who breach ULEZ rules.

These include between April 8 and May 10, 2019 when the zone was introduced, and between October 25 and November 22, 2021 after its expansion that year.

The scheme was suspended between March 23 and May 17, 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic. After it was reinstated, there was also a period of warning notices between May 18 and May 29, 2020.

It is a statutory requirement for net revenue generated by ULEZ to be reinvested into London's transport network.

TfL was contacted for comment.

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