FOI - ULEZ revenue and spending plans [Aug 2023]

Your request

1. Gross revenue from the first day of the ULEZ charge.
2. Net revenue from day one of the charge.
3. Detailed and the emphasis is on detailed plans for how this revenue will be spent.
4. Copies of the empirical data you are using as your baseline air quality assessment which will be used to assess improvements.
5. An explanation of what 'at the tailpipe' means in your bus fleet.
6. An explanation of the shambolic Elizabeth Line service at a time when we are being asked to use public transport and when a full interrupted service on a hugely expensive transport route can be expected.

Our response

With regard to your questions 1 and 2, the GLA does not hold this information. 

Transport for London (TfL) is the Mayor's transport authority and is responsible for 
implementing the Mayor's Transport Strategy, and for the design, procurement, delivery and operational running of road user charging schemes such as the ULEZ. You may wish to send a further request to TfL at [email protected]

It is a statutory requirement that any net revenue generated by our road charging schemes (the ULEZ, LEZ or the Congestion Charge) is reinvested back into London’s transport network, including investing in improving transport links in outer London.

Some of the programmes that the London-wide ULEZ net revenue will be spent on are detailed in the Four-Year General Programme published on the TfL website. 

As with previous iterations of the ULEZ, the GLA will publish regular monitoring reports to 
assess the impact of the London-wide ULEZ expansion. As with previous reports, this will use air quality data from London’s monitoring network, automatic traffic count data, data from TfL’s ANPR cameras and air quality modelling. 

You can read the most recent report for the inner London ULEZ, which includes details on the method and data used to assess its impacts, on the GLA website and find links to the previous reports within.

The evidence base and expected outcomes and impacts of the proposals to expand the ULEZ London-wide were set out in the key consultation documents, which are available on TfL’s consultation page.

The most relevant document is titled ‘Our proposals to help improve air quality tackle the climate emergency and reduce congestion by expanding the ULEZ London-wide and other measures’. Section 6 of this document sets out the expected impacts of the London-wide ULEZ on emissions and concentrations of key pollutants.

The use of the caveat 'at the tailpipe' reflects that the zero-emission buses in TfL’s fleet emit no harmful gases at the tailpipe. However, the energy they use, such as electricity from the National Grid, does have emissions connected with its production and distribution. In addition, 'non-exhaust' emissions or particulates are also released via braking and the vehicle’s tyres. 

The Elizabeth Line's full peak timetable commenced on 22 May 2023 following the May 2023 timetable change. The introduction marked the final milestone of the Crossrail project.

With that change, peak time frequencies increased from 22 to up to 24 trains per hour between Paddington and Whitechapel, with 16 trains per hour running off-peak.

More information on the Elizabeth Line is available online.

If you have any further questions relating to this matter, please contact us, quoting 
reference MGLA300823-5346.