HUNDREDS of drivers have been wrongly fined under the newly expanded ULEZ scheme, introduced by Sadiq Khan.
In just one example, a ULEZ camera pointing the wrong way fined nearly 1,000 motorists in northwest London.
GettyHundreds of drivers have been wrongly fined over issues with the ULEZ cameras[/caption]
GettyLondon Mayor Sadiq Khan expanded the ULEZ scheme to cover all the capital’s boroughs in August this year[/caption]
The camera at the Old Redding junction towards Common Road in Harrow led to 927 incorrect fines before it was fixed.
Transport for London (TfL) are believed to have had to refund more than £10,000 in fines.
They have apologised for mistakenly fining drivers of non-compliant cars who were driving on the outside edge of the recently expanded ULEZ zone and admitted the camera had been “incorrectly positioned”.
Some bemused locals received as many as four tickets despite not driving their vehicles in the ULEZ zone, whilst others avidly avoided driving on roads within the zone – only to be handed tickets anyway.
The Ultra-Low Emissions Zone was expanded to outer London in August this year, meaning motorists in all 32 boroughs would be charged £12.50 a day if they drove a vehicle in the zone that doesn’t meet emissions standards.
One of the new boundary lines splits the borough of Harrow in northwest London into two and has been charging drivers travelling north through one junction, which falls outside of the zone, as the camera installed was facing the wrong way.
Local Tory councillor Marilyn Ashton has said the mistake is a “total fiasco” and that London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has pushed the legislation through, should personally apologise.
The member for Stanmore and the deputy leader of the council, says motorists in the area continued to receive fines for ‘weeks’ before the error was remedied.
The mum and grandmother, who has lived in the area for nearly five decades, said: “If you are driving down Old Redding in a non-compliant car, you shouldn’t have to pay a charge as those roads are exempt.
“Since it went up on August 29, people thought, ‘I’ll go that way and not have to pay anything’, and had to pay the £12.50.
“It’s not in London at all, which is partially why it’s a terrible idea to do this.
“All that was wrong is that the cameras were facing these roads. More than 900 and something people had to pay £12.50 and that’s terrible.
“It went on for weeks and people started complaining and writing in. But it took TfL weeks to say, ‘We got it wrong’ and move the camera.
“It’s unacceptable, incompetent and disgraceful.
“Once they realised what was wrong they should have sorted it out, but they waited for the best part of a month to remedy it.
“People will get a refund but it’s not very nice; these people haven’t done anything wrong.
“This should never have happened.”
Cllr Ashton, who supported the central London ULEZ zones but was against the most recent expansion into outer London, believes Mayor Khan owes motorists fined incorrectly an apology.
“It’s an embarrassment for Sadiq Khan,” she said. “The trouble is, I don’t think he’s capable of feeling embarrassment.
“He’s arrogant. He doesn’t seem to think he can get anything wrong. Well, this went wrong. He should have apologised but he still hasn’t.
“We’re not talking about half a dozen people, here: it’s hundreds of people.
“There was a woman at the hairdresser saying she didn’t understand it. It had happened to her four times.
“I just think it’s blatant carelessness, incompetence and arrogance.
“It wasn’t hard to crack it, it wasn’t exactly rocket science. I find it extraordinary, really.”
Cllr Ashton added that the roll-out of ULEZ to the very limits of the city was a bad idea, saying: “There is a feeling of resentment in the area towards ULEZ.
“We have spent millions of pounds on these cameras just to catch a few people going into small roads.
“This total fiasco of Old Redding is a symptom of not thinking this through.
“These are residents who don’t get a vote in next year’s Mayoral election. They are completely disenfranchised.
“I was talking to a woman who works at Heathrow and lives in Bushey who has to go into the ULEZ zone and pay £25 to go to and from work.
“Surely Khan must realise that’s ridiculous? As someone who says he cares about people, how can he do this to people?
“It was a great idea in central London but we don’t need it in outer London.”
A spokesperson for TfL said: “We apologise for this error. Unfortunately this camera was incorrectly positioned.
“It was switched off once we were informed of the error and has been repositioned. We have refunded any charges that were wrongly issued.”
TfL added that all cameras on the London boundary have been checked and that all cameras are now correctly positioned.
GettyProtesers have taken to the streets to show their hatred of the expanded ULEZ scheme[/caption]