The latest expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone went live at the end of August 2023 with the aim of further reducing pollution and improving air quality across the capital. With the extension of the ULEZ boundaries, it was anticipated that initially the number of non-compliant cars required to pay the ULEZ charge would more than double, with a corresponding increase in penalty charge notices (PCNs). This additional workload required a substantial expansion of the back-office system to process the PCNs. Over the summer, Taranto worked closely with Capita, the main contractor for the London Road User Charge with Transport for London (TfL) to prepare for the ULEZ extension.
The expansion of the emission zone created a considerable amount of additional work to ensure that the Taranto system could handle the increased volume of traffic.
PaaS resilience delivers a robust platform
Even though the ULEZ expansion was a planned project, the timescales to implement the ULEZ extension were tight. Taranto was able to deliver this project on time thanks to the flexibility and functionality of Taranto’s Platform-as-a-Service environment. Using PaaS allows system enhancements and upgrades to be implemented seamlessly and securely with minimal disruption to business as usual. Taranto could handle the additional scale of the ULEZ zone due to the scalability, resilience and efficiency delivered by PaaS, enabling Taranto to support the increased volume of PCNs issued by the system in a very tight timeframe.
A complex, integrated system
The system that administers ULEZ is highly complex, interfacing with multiple third party systems such as number plate recognition (ANPR), payments, challenges and appeals which all need to be seamlessly integrated into a holistic solution.
The cleaner air objective
ULEZ is delivering its objectives to improve London’s air quality. Since ULEZ was introduced, harmful pollution emissions have been reduced by over 26% and Nitrogen Oxide pollution has fallen by nearly 50%.
Ultimately, enforcement volumes will reduce across London, as older, more polluting vehicles are phased out and drivers increasingly adopt cleaner vehicles. This is already happening, as a recent report shows that ULEZ compliance has increased from 85% to 95% – and since the ULEZ expansion across Greater London, indications are that compliance is also increasing in the outer London boroughs.
Taranto’s role in helping to launch the ULEZ expansion in London highlights the essential behind-the-scenes work required to enforce and manage such a critical environmental initiative. The challenges posed by the ULEZ expansion were achieved with a robust and resilient platform, integrating various systems seamlessly to ensure the efficient processing of PCNs. As London continues to lead the way in addressing air pollution and environmental concerns, the collaboration between organisations like Taranto, Capita and TfL demonstrates how technology and innovation can contribute to a cleaner, healthier future for London’s citizens.
More information on Taranto’s Clean Air Zone solutions can be found here
