Tag: £100million
ULEZ expansion catches out drivers with nearly £100million worth of charges in less than a year
THE expansion of London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone has seen drivers cough up almost £100 million in less than 12 months.
And this figure doesn’t even include the money collected from the fines people are slapped with when they fail to pay their Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charge.
The extension of London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone has seen nearly £100m collected in just eight months[/caption]
Last year the city’s ULEZ was extended to cover a much larger area.
And new figures, analysed by RAC, show between November and June a whopping £93.6 million has been collected by Transport for London (TfL) from drivers of non-compliant vehicles.
Vehicles being driven in the ULEZ must conform to either Euro 6 diesel standards or Euro 4 petrol standards, and majority of those that don’t must pay £12.50 a day.
About three-in-10 – or 28.5 per cent – of non-compliant vehicles do not pay a charge.
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Prior to the expansion, an average of 329,527 journeys were made in the original ULEZ every month by non-compliant vehicles.
This saw revenues of just under £19 million.
But the extension has seen number of journeys rise to 1.9 million.
And while the income from fines isn’t counted in that eight-month period, it is estimated about 1.6 million have been handed out to those who failed to pay their ULEZ charge.
Most read in The Sun
This is compared to the 253,357 that were handed out in the eight months prior to the boundary changes.
Given the £160 fine amount – or £80 for early payment – the RAC estimates the potential income from the fines is between £130.9 million and £261.9 million.
This is again compared to between £20.3 million to £40.5 million in the eight months in the original central London boundaries.
Nicholas Lyes of the RAC said: “The expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in 2021 meant a far larger geographical area was covered by the mayor’s strict vehicle emissions standards.
“For many, this meant a very stark choice: either replace their vehicle with a compliant model or face paying the £12.50 daily charge.
“Failing to pay the charge wasn’t an option either as it would result in a hefty penalty charge notice.”
Mr Lyse said the expansion has resulted in a “much-increased revenue stream” for TfL, adding: “Notwithstanding the costs associated with introducing the larger ULEZ.
“Londoners living outside the current ULEZ will now be worrying about the prospect of further expansion, mooted to be at the end of August 2023.
“While we accept that action is needed to reduce toxic emissions from vehicles, the cost-of-living crisis is hurting drivers in the pocket and there is a risk that further enlarging the zone will be hugely costly for those with older vehicles who can least afford to change them for something newer.
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“As it is, RAC research suggests drivers are holding on to their vehicles for longer, so there is a real risk that more people with non-compliant vehicles will be forced to pay a charge they can ill afford to.
“We would encourage the mayor to take a pragmatic approach and redouble his efforts to support lower-income families and businesses with non-compliant vehicles with a targeted scrappage scheme ahead of any expansion plans.”
Call of Duty active players drop below 100million following lawsuits
CALL of Duty developer and publisher, Activision Blizzard, has seen a decline in profits and players for the fifth quarter in a row.
The company’s most profitable period was January to March 2021, which saw 435million active users across the franchise.
Activision hopes to regain popularity in the series when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 releases this year.[/caption]
Following this, several lawsuits alleging discrimination, sexual misconduct, and a toxic work culture were filed against the company, which was followed by a decline in players and profits.
The financial results of the company ending on June 30 have been released, showing the total number of active Call of Duty users has dipped below 100million for the first time in three years.
The company revealed that the Activision branch which handles Call of Duty had only 94million active users in the month of June, down from 150million users reported before the lawsuits were levied.
The company blamed the disappointing launch of Call of Duty: Vanguard and Call of Duty: Warzone for the losses.
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It also states it hopes to regain revenue and players when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 releases later this year.
Activision wants to do this by following on from the success of the most popular game in the series – the 2019 reboot of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
Blizzard claims that Diablo Immortal launched the same quarter to huge financial success, as it was one of the most downloaded apps on mobile storefronts.
King, the developer of Candy Crush, also reports steady growth of around 6% year over year.
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Despite this, the company as a whole lost over $650million (£530million) in revenue compared to the same quarter in 2021.
The company claims to have put a plan in action to combat its image and increase inclusivity of the workplace.
In the report it said: “Activision Blizzard remains committed to becoming the most welcoming, inclusive company in our industry.
“[It] continues to implement previously announced initiatives to strengthen our practices and policies.”
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Activision has tried to tackle issues with hackers and cheaters in Call of Duty: Vanguard using the Ricochet anti-cheat system.
However, players claim that cheating is still prevalent which could lead to loss of interest in the game.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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Nottingham Forest take spending close to £100MILLION with 12th signing of summer with £12.8m Orel Mangala transfer
NOTTINGHAM FOREST have completed their 12th signing of the window to take their summer transfer outlay to nearly £100million.
Forest announced the signing of midfielder Orel Mangala from VfB Stuttgart on Sunday in a deal worth £12.8m.
Forest announced Orel Mangala earlier today[/caption]
Mangala starred for Stuttgart last season[/caption]
Mangala, 24, appeared 29 times for the German team last season, scoring one goal and chipping in with four assists.
In a statement on the clubs website, Forest confirmed Mangala has signed a long-term contract at the City Ground.
The Belgian has been capped twice by the national team, but was not involved in the most recent international break.
Steve Cooper’s side are pulling out all the stops to ensure they survive the threat of relegation in their first season back in the Premier League since 1999.
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The signing of Mangala is their third signing from the Bundesliga, following club record signing Taiwo Awoniyi and defenders Moussa Niakhate and Omar Richards.
They have added Premier League experience in former Man Utd star Jesse Lingard and ex-Liverpool defender Neco Williams.
United goalkeeper Dean Henderson has also been loaned in while Wayne Hennessey has also been added on a free transfer.
Huddersfield duo Lewis O’Brien and Harry Toffolo have also been added from the Championship.
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Giulian Biancone and Brandon Aguilera have also been added to Cooper’s options for the upcoming season.
And despite all of their activity already, there could yet be more signings with reports linking them to Real Betis defensive midfielder William Carvalho.