London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) levy launched in 2019 with the aim to improve the city’s air quality by reducing the number of polluting vehicles in central London.
And whilst it’s managed to achieve that – the number of the most polluting vehicles has fallen by more than a third – it hasn’t been so great for drivers who get caught out by the zone and face penalty fines of up to £160.
According to a freedom of information request (FOI) by London insurtech start-up ByMiles, drivers have shelled out £48.9 million in daily ULEZ charges – £12.50 cost for cars and small vehicles and £100 for HGVs and coaches. However, a further £21.5 million has been paid by drivers facing late penalty charge notices. This occurs when a driver fails to make a ULEZ payment before midnight on the date of travel, or the next working day if the journey was made over the weekend.
Picking up a charge is easier than you think – there’s no automatic notification system in place to remind drivers they’ve entered the zone or strayed into it, causing people to end up with penalties of up to £160, 12 times more than the cost of a single journey in the ULEZ zone.
Help is at hand thanks to ByMiles. The start-up’s 10,000+ customers fit a tiny telematics box to their dashboard that records the miles they drive so they only pay insurance “by miles”. Thanks to this tech, a new feature uses GPS data to alert its customers when they’ve travelled through the ULEZ zone and therefore payment will be due.
Customers will receive a notification in the app at the end of their journey to remind them to pay the charge and link them directly to Transport for London’s website to ensure drivers don’t get caught out.
Speaking about the launch of the feature, James Blackham, co-founder of the start-up, said: “While the ULEZ zone is a positive step towards tackling climate change and improving air quality in the city, it’s clear that it is causing considerable confusion among drivers in the capital. Many are unaware where zones start and finish, and the tight timeframe you’re given to pay the fee if you accidentally pass through it is costing unsuspecting motorists millions.”
The start-up’s head of product actually fell foul to the ULEZ charge which was what motivated the company to create a tool for drivers that will help them to avoid getting into the same situation.
ByMiles hopes to apply this tech to other driving scenarios such as when customers have travelled within the London Congestion Charge area and the Dartford Crossing.
“We’re trying to raise awareness and make the process clearer, fairer and more effective,” added Blackham.
The start-up is focused on using tech to benefit the UK’s 19 million low mileage motorists (driving 7,500 miles or less a year) thanks to the help of tech. On average, its policyholders save up to £150 on the pay-by-mile policy compared to a traditional car insurance policy. ByMiles has raised £6.3 million to date in funding from the likes of Octopus Ventures and JamJar Investments.
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