Ulez expansion: Where does the money from the scheme go? | UK News

Five London councils – Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon along with Surrey County Council – lost a High Court challenge against the scheme, which they launched amid concerns residents won’t be able to afford the £12.50 daily fee.

The scheme has raked in an eye-watering amount of money since it was first implemented in parts of the capital – generating a nine-figure sum in 2022 alone.

But many may be left asking what the money brought in by Ulez is spent on.

Just what does your daily £12.50 fee go towards?

Where does the Ulez money go?

Transport for London (TfL) says the cash has been spent on ‘set-up costs’ for the expansion and ‘running and improving’ the rest of the network.

They confirm this on their website, saying: ‘All money received from the scheme is reinvested into improving London’s transport network, such as expanding bus routes in outer London.’

The Mayor also addressed this issue on the London Assembly website in 2018 ahead of the scheme’s implementation, saying: ‘All money received from the ULEZ will be reinvested into improving the transport network and making London’s air cleaner.’

He said: ‘The introduction of the Ultra Low Emission Zone in 2019 and its expansion to inner London in 2021 is not about making money, but about improving the health and wellbeing of thousands of Londoners.

‘That is why Transport for London is doing all it can to make sure road users are aware that the Ulez is coming, to encourage them to check their vehicles’ compliance online through their website in advance and to act to upgrade their vehicles if necessary.’

The set-up costs to expand the ULEZ are estimated to reach £140 million, TfL said.

The costs include signage, marketing, detection and enforcement infrastructure, and risk and project overheads – with the installation of ANPR cameras likely to cost up to £50 million alone.

TfL reckons the expanded ULEZ could make ‘up to £200 million a year’, despite the existing, much smaller zone making more than this last year.

How much money has ULEZ brought in so far?

Again exact figures of how much it has generated since it was first implemented are not clear – but a Freedom of Information request found it generated over £224 million in those 12 months – an average of £18.7 million a month.

Data obtained by the BBC found around a third of the sum came from penalty charge notices, with the rest made up of daily charge payments.

Transport for London (TfL) says the cash has been spent on ‘set-up costs’ for the expansion and ‘running and improving’ the rest of the network.

Of this sum, ULEZ daily charges made £151.3 million, while penalty charges generated £73.3 million.

MORE : Map reveals full extent of ULEZ expansion across London – is your area affected?