ULEZ fight continues: London signs not legal?
The Low Emission Zone in London - extended to over 1500 square kilometres a few days ago - could suffer a serious setback. After a citizen challenged the signs in court as unlawful and was proven right, more affected people could now escape the penalties of the ULEZ.
A London citizen was fined over £11,500 (almost €13,500) for not registering to enter the ULEZ. He had then appealed to the court on the grounds that the signs did not inform him about an entry fee. In fact, the plaintiff could not find any information on the Ministry of Transport's "Know your Signs" website. Moreover, the other areas in and around London where a charge is made are marked with a large red "C" and the description "Charge". In addition, there are often instructions on how to pay the charges for toll penalties as well as the congestion charge. Often there are even reminders to pay the charge when exiting the toll zone.
This is not the case with the ULEZ. The signs simply read "Ultra Low Emissions Zone ULEZ". The plaintiff was found to be in the right. All penalties against him were declared null and void by the judge.
Admittedly, the court's ruling only applies to this case. However, the result could encourage many more people to sue against the penalties of the ULEZ and to get justice. For the zone, this would possibly mean in the long run that all previous penalties would be null and void and the signs would first have to be adjusted before the zone could continue to operate as planned.
For opponents of the ULEZ, the missing "C" on the signs is an indication that the city is not concerned with reducing air pollution but primarily with making money - similar to Glasgow, where the city made about 600,000 pounds (just under 700,000 euros) in a very short time with the environmental zone.
It remains to be seen what will happen with the ULEZ in London. You can find more information about the Low Emission Zone in our free Green Zones app and on our website.