Revealed: the Ford Focus driver with the highest amount of Ulez fines for ignoring London's toxic air levy

A file image of an Ultra Low Emission Zone sign in Tower Hill, central London
Yui Mok/PA
Ross Lydall @RossLydall25 October 2019

A Ford Focus driver was today revealed to have clocked up about £13,000 in fines after failing to pay the central London toxic air levy.

The woman entered the ultra low emission zone (Ulez) without paying on 81 occasions between May 11 and August 31, Transport for London confirmed. She is understood to be the most prolific evader of the charge since its launch.

Only drivers whose vehicles fail tough new rules on exhaust emissions have to pay the £12.50 daily charge. Drivers who fail to pay face a £160 fine, or £80 if paid within a fortnight.

The Ulez, which follows the boundaries of the congestion charge zone, was launched by Mayor Sadiq Khan on April 8. Penalties began to be levied on May 10 after a “soft launch”.

More than two million drivers had paid the 24/7 charge by the end of August, generating almost £31 million for TfL. This included £25,953,800 from car drivers and £4.8 million from HGV and coach drivers, who pay a higher £100-a-day levy.

A further £10,622,001 has been raised in fines — 223,952 having been issued by the end of August. This includes 31,783 drivers who have received more than one penalty ticket.

TfL revealed earlier this week that the number of “non-compliant” vehicles within the zone had fallen by 37.8 per cent, from 35,578 during weekdays in March to 22,133 in September.

Car sales website Motorway.co.uk, used freedom of information laws to obtain the Ulez evasion figures. The company’s Alex Buttle said: “While Ulez was not about generating money, it has nevertheless brought in more than £40 million in charges and penalty notices in the six months since [its] launch.”

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