Berkshire drivers receive nearly £6m in Ulez fines

Low emission zones were introduced to clean up the air, with the aim of making people healthier and reducing the burden on the NHS

Almost £6m in Ultra-low Emission Zone (Ulez) fines have been charged to addresses in Berkshire since the scheme launched in 2019.

Data from Transport for London (TfL) revealed that 91,148 Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) were issued for cars in the county that drove in the zone, but did not meet emissions requirements.

Over this time, £5.79m in payments for these charges were received.

Motorists who drive in the Ulez area are subject to a £12.50 charge per day.

Drivers are issued with a PCN if they do not pay the fee by midnight on the third day following their journey.

The largest number of Ulez penalties sent to Berkshire addresses came in 2022, when 40,622 PCNs were sent, gathering £2.4m in payments, more than triple the number sent in 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 29 August to cover every Greater London borough.

Puja Bedi, transport lead councillor at Slough Borough Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "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."

Christina Calderato, TfL's director of strategy and policy, said Berkshire only represented 4% of ULEZ fines sent outside of London.

She said: "The ULEZ is vital in tackling the triple threats of air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion, and will ensure millions more people can breathe cleaner air.

"Thousands die prematurely each year as a result of toxic pollution and it causes children to grow up with stunted lungs and increases the risk of dementia in older people.

"Those outside the London boundary will also benefit, with drivers outside of the capital shifting to cleaner vehicles that meet the standards. This includes people living and working near Heathrow, which has some of the capital's most toxic air."