Capita plc today announces it has secured an extension to its contracts with Transport for London (TfL) to continue to manage London’s Congestion Charge, Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
The deal is worth £355m, comprising an extension to Capita’s work on the existing schemes, from October 2021 to October 2026, and new work associated with the expansion of ULEZ, Direct Vision Standards (DVS), LEZ and their operations to October 2026.
The contracts will see Capita delivering an expanded scope of work, with the company providing further services on TfL’s behalf which include:
- Managing the expanded ULEZ, scheduled to be operational from October 2021, which will increase from the Central London ULEZ to the entire area within London’s North Circular and South Circular roads.
- Running the registration and monitoring service for the new DVS scheme for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). This is an initiative to measure how safely an HGV driver can see through their cab windows and will prevent unsafe vehicles from using London’s roads, with the goal of reducing the number of pedestrian, cyclist and motorcyclist injuries and fatalities.
- Implementing further London-wide changes to the LEZ’s standards for HGVs and buses.
The contracts will involve transforming and further improving the efficiency of the ways TfL customers can address their queries about the services, through the introduction of digital technologies.
Under the contracts, Capita is employing a number of its digital transformation capabilities. This includes migrating the existing technology – used to operate the Congestion Charge, LEZ and ULEZ, and which processes an average of 1.5 million roadside images a day – to the Cloud. This is designed to ensure that the operations are more flexible and should enable the company to scale the service quickly to incorporate the ULEZ expansion being delivered on behalf of TfL.
Capita anticipates recruiting and training an additional 900 new staff to deliver the expanded service. The majority of these employees will have the capability to work remotely and will be encouraged to work from home.
Jon Lewis, Capita’s chief executive officer, said: “We are delighted to be continuing to partner with Transport for London, working across Capita’s divisions to manage and administer the Congestion Charge, LEZ and ULEZ.
“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.”
ULEZ and the Congestion Charge are a key part of the Mayor of London and TfL’s strategy to reduce traffic and air pollution across the city. The world's first ULEZ has already contributed to a reduction of 44 per cent in roadside NO2 within its boundaries and 79 per cent of vehicles entering the area meet its emission standards.
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.”
