Ulez expansion made Sadiq Khan £5.3 MILLION in first week alone - new data
PA
The controversial scheme expanded up to the outskirts of Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey
Nearly 300,000 extra Ulez enforcement notices were handed out in the week after the expansion of the zone.
Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act request revealed daily charges cost London motorists in excess of £5.3 million in the first week.
Between August 29 and September 4, 425,814 charges were paid.
This is an increase compared to 141,029 the week before the expansion.
Before August 29, the boundaries of the zone were the North Circular and South Circular roads.
The zone now covers every road in the capital with new boundaries reaching Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey.
Drivers in outer London whose vehicles do not meet emissions standards to pay a £12.50 daily fee to drive within the zone.
Broadly, there are charges for petrol cars registered before January 2006 and diesel vehicles registered before September 2015.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Research commissioned by used car marketplace Motorway found that 16 per cent of Londoners, equivalent to 714,000 people, did not own a Ulez-compliant vehicle.
Motorway co-founder said: "With the continued cost of living crisis and the recent expansion of London’s Ulez, more drivers who use the zone are questioning their driving habits.
"We know from our research that the financial implications are causing concern among drivers in London and the surrounding areas."
Campaigners accuse the mayor of using Ulez as a money-making scheme and have questioned the benefit to the environment.
It comes as the advertising watchdog is set to criticise Transport for London (TfL) for "misleading" claims about the benefits of the expanded zone.
A draft ASA report said there were “misleading” claims made about the reduction of nitrogen dioxide levels in TfL’s radio and newspaper advertisements,
TfL and Khan have said any net revenue raised through the Ulez will be reinvested into public transport.
Analysis of the impact on air pollution in London are set to be published after six months of the expanded scheme.