Drivers who fail to pay their Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) fines could soon find bailiffs knocking at their door, after Sadiq Khan revealed he was weighing up all options to chase almost £400million owed to Transport for London (TfL).
An eye-watering £376m of outstanding fines has now been racked up as thousands of drivers of cars that do not meet strict environmental standards fail to pay the controversial daily £12.50 charge.
It is thought TfL’s bad debts are now in excess of £450m, with a large proportion of that attributed to ULEZ, the Evening Standard reports.
Prior to the ULEZ expansion, TfL’s purported bad debt was significantly less at around £160m.
Neil Garratt, Tory group leader on the London Assembly, asked Mr Khan to reveal the staggering figures at a mayor’s question time on Thursday at City Hall.
He asked the Mayor: ‘Are we going to see bailiffs knocking on people’s doors?’
Mr Khan said in response ‘all options’ would be considered, as it was ‘important’ that TfL recovers the money.
‘If you break the law, you break the law and action should be taken,’ he said.
The Mayor added: ‘TfL has been working to identify new ways of recovering debt, including collaborating with the Department for Transport and the DVLA and working with enforcement agents to find drivers who receive multiple PCNs and improved communications with drivers.’
He added that TfL is already involved in pursuing actions through the county courts.
Last July, reported the Ulez scheme was owed more money than it made amid a drivers’ ‘revolt’.
At the time, it was reported that ULEZ had garnered a huge £255m black hole, while the scheme generated £225m million in revenue.
This was a month before the zone was expanded across Greater London, with critics of the scheme arguing many drivers who have been issued with fines since are simply refusing to pay.
Drivers who are handed a £180 charge for not complying with the ULEZ have 28 days to make an application for an appeal, while those who pay up within a fortnight are let off 50 per cent of the fine.
Those who do not pay at all will see their fine rise to £270.
Mr Khan added that 96 per cent of vehicles in London were now ULEZ compliant, while only a fraction – 0.27 per cent – of drivers received a fine.
Last October, it was reported that Sadiq Khan had given firms £151.8million in lucrative contracts to track down drivers who fail to pay Ulez penalties and other road fines.
The London mayor had briefed four companies to chase motorists who are dodging the £12.50 daily charge for driving into recently expanded Ulez with non-compliant vehicles.
The firms were told to compile lists of persistent evaders – even if they are living abroad – and were tasked with gathering information on specific groups.
The debt collectors were also instructed to go after those who fail to pay parking tickets, the congestion charge and other motoring fines.