FOI - ULEZ installation of ANPR cameras [Mar 2022]

Your request

Please can I have a cost breakdown on how much has it cost for the installation of all the ANPR Cameras for the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) around the present zone and also the individual cost of the signs for the above:

1. How much did each camera cost?
2. How much did each post cost?
3. How much was the installation cost per camera and pole including coaction to electric?
4. How many cameras were fitted on this project?
5. Overall cost for the installation of the ULEZ?
6. How much revenue has been made in fines?
7. How much does it cost to run the ULEZ scheme at the present time?
8. How much money will it cost to implementation the extension of the ULEZ in 2023?
9. How many new cameras will this new project need?
10. How many new signs with ULEZ on them?
11. What powers or acts of Parliament will be used to implement the new scheme to the M25 ring?
12. Under what authority will be used to take over counties outside the London boroughs, if at all?

Our response

Please find below the information we hold within the scope of your request.

Please note that the GLA does not hold the information to be able to respond to your questions in full. However, much of what you have requested is already publicly available.

Where that is the case, I have included links to these sources. Transport for London (TfL) is the Mayor's transport authority and is responsible for implementing the Mayor's Transport Strategy, and for the day-to-day operational running of transport services, including road user charging schemes such as the ULEZ. You may wish to send a further request to TfL at [email protected]

The supply and installation costs for individual cameras varies because the complexity of the works to enable their installation depends on whether existing power supplies and street furniture can be used or whether new provision is required. The majority of camera supply and installation costs were in the range of £10,000 to £15,000 per installation, although occasionally where locations were constrained the individual site cost can be higher.

The information about individual camera costs is commercially sensitive and if released would inhibit TfL’s ability to achieve best value during future procurement exercises.

As at 24 February 2022, there are 1,426 cameras operating within the whole of the newly expanded zone.

The overall implementation costs for the ULEZ expansion were £115 million. This cost includes schemes to improve access to public transport, staffing and the signs, cameras and back-office systems needed to make the scheme operational. The Mayor and TfL sought to deliver the infrastructure needed to operate the scheme in the most cost-effective way possible. The ULEZ expansion was delivered on time and under budget.

TfL publishes quarterly ULEZ factsheets that are available in the Finance, Operations and Performance section of its website. These factsheets include details of the number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued per month. A ULEZ PCN is £160, reducing to £80 if paid within 14 days.

All revenue raised by road pricing must by law be used to implement the Mayor’s Transport Strategy. Therefore, income received from the ULEZ is reinvested by TfL into improving the transport network, including its roads, cycleways, buses and the Tube, and making London’s air cleaner.

TfL publishes details of income from all road user charging schemes, including the ULEZ, in its Annual Report and Statement of Accounts.

Expected costs and income for future years are published in TfL's Budget, Business Plan and Financial Sustainability Plan. 

The Mayor has asked TfL to consult on expanding the ULEZ London-wide in 2023. TfL is currently working on producing a consultation document which will set out the full proposals for the scheme, including the proposed boundary, charge level and potential mitigations.

Public consultation on the proposal will begin in May. If, following consultation, the Mayor decides to go forward with proposals to further expand the ULEZ, the final proposals will inform the projected infrastructure and associated costs required.

The Greater London Authority Act 1999 gives TfL the power to create or vary road user charging schemes in Greater London. Details of the required contents of a scheme order are contained in Schedule 23 of the Act, which stipulates that a charging scheme must: 

• designate the area to which it applies;
• specify the classes of motor vehicles in respect of which a charge is imposed;
• designate those roads in the charging area in respect of which a charge is imposed;
• specify the charges imposed.

These powers were used to implement the London LEZ under the 2006 Charging Order, which took effect from 4 February 2008. That Order was varied in 2015 to provide for the ULEZ in central London, to become operational on 7 September 2020. This date was subsequently changed to 8 April 2019. That Order was varied again in 2018 to expand the ULEZ up to the North and South Circular Roads on 25 October 2021.

You can read more about the powers held by TfL and the Mayor in the legal comments of the Mayoral Decision to expand the ULEZ.

If you have any further questions relating to this matter, please contact us, quoting reference MGLA070322-6180.