Transport for London (TfL) has added five years to its contract with Capita for the management of London’s Congestion Charge, Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
Under a deal worth £355 million, the company will continue with its work on the relevant zones until October 2026. This includes work on the expansion of the ULEZ and the enforcement of Direct Vision Standards (DVS) for heavy goods vehicles.
It said this will involve a number of digital changes, including migrating the existing technology to the cloud in order to make the operations more flexible and support scaling up the ULEZ.
It also anticipates taking on 900 additional staff, most of whom will be able to work remotely and encouraged to work from home.
Helen Chapman, TfL’s director of licensing, regulation and charging, said: “These projects are vital to cleaning up London’s toxic air, encouraging people to make more sustainable travel choices and keeping people safe on the capital’s roads.
“The expansion of the ULEZ to the North and South Circular will be transformational, reducing road transport NOx emissions by around 30 per cent and improving air quality for millions of Londoners.
“We have extended Capita’s contracts to deliver these services over the next five years and will continue to work with them to deliver value for money, and to maintain and improve customer services.”
Infrastructure provision
The ULEZ expansion will increase the area to cover everywhere within London North and South Circular roads from October 2021. Last week TfL announced the provision of new infrastructure, notably in the installation of around 750 cameras, to support the extension.
The new DVS scheme, which is currently due to come into force in March of next year, is designed to measure how safely HGV drivers can see through their cab windows.
Jon Lewis, Capita’s chief executive officer, said: “These new contracts will see us build on our existing partnership, which has already seen us launch ULEZ on time and on budget, and will draw on our track record of transformation and digitally enabled services, as well as adding value for our shareholders.
“Working with Transport for London, we will roll out new, expanded programmes that reduce the effects of air pollution on Londoners and make the streets safer for all road users and pedestrians.”
Image by Adrian Brown, CC BY 2.0
