Tag: tfl

Following up from my ULEZ fine – The computer is wrong!

Honda Silverwing in front of a Mountain in Ireland
This scooter hasn’t passed through London in a decade and I can prove it!

I have a follow up to the post about cloning of my scooter licence/number plate.

Ian Forrester | @cubicgarden

Great, just got a ULEZ fine for a Honda car with a cloned number plate in London!

However

I drive a scooter not a car
I can't legally drive a car
I live 200miles away in Manchester
Haven't ridden in London for over 15 years
I was mid air in a plane across the alps when it happened

My scooter was locked up and hasn't moved according to the many locks, multiple trackers and CCTV's in the garage.

But I need prove it wasn't me?
According to…

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3743
wilsons.co.uk/news/what-to-do-

March 11, 2026, 3:46 pm 2 boosts 8 favorites

Its been pretty hellish, with everything falling back to the analogue hole aka writing letters by hand to prove who I am with the DVLA. The MET police called me and after verifying they who they said they were, we had a long conversation.

Ultimately they identified the licence/number plate was incorrectly found using TFL’s (Transport for London) APNR (automatic plate number recognition system). Aka the computer vision was wrong! One character was off and that was enough for me to get the fine and go down the route of trying to prove my innocence. So I had to write to DVLA again, saying my number plate was not cloned but there had been a APNR mess up (I use my words carefully).

With my crime reference in place I wrote again.

The automated number plate camera used to capture the Honda Civic CAR has the wrong number plate. The number plate is actually a *****Y* which leads to a Green Honda Civic CAR. The number plate *****V* is my Honda Silverwing 600 cc SCOOTER/MOTORBIKE which has not been ridden in London for over 12 years and was locked in a garage under multiple CCTV’s during the date and time in question. I personally was on holiday and have many Manchester airport cameras  and passport checks to prove I was not driving either vehicles. I have included pictures of my SCOOTER with the number plate in question. You can even see its the wrong size and SCOOTER don’t have front number plates! When I received this PCN, I thought my number plate was cloned as the SCOOTER has not moved or unlocked while I was on holiday. So I raised it with the DVLA and Police . I personally only have a motorcycle licence and can not legally drive a car or have ever owned a car. I urge you to use common sense and look up a Blue Honda Silvering 600 and see its not even a CAR. Let alone a Honda Civic CAR in Green. I have added the Honda Civic registrations in a simple look up you could.should have done. DVLA are also aware of this issue, alongside the GM & MET police services. This has been very stressful and honestly I’m upset about the amount of time I have had to use to prove my innocence over an automated camera.

So now I wait…

I assume TFL will send a letter saying sorry but this has taken a lot of time and effort on my part. What a waste of public resources too.

This is clearly a screw up and my suspicion of my number plate being cloned was right as there was no other way; although that’s what I thought thinking the camera was correct. Heck I fell for the trust the computer till the conversation with the police.

How many others have gone through this? Those automated number plate cameras are everywhere and honestly it chimes with all the problems with automation, surveillance and no transparency. Heck something simple like a V & Y can cause injustice.

A reminder to support the Open Rights Group and Big Brother Watch in the UK.

Updated 30th March 2026

The letter I got back from TFL

Its finally over, they admit there was a administrative error and they had charged the wrong vehicle. This for me is a clear case of the computer says no; as mentioned above a worrisome trend of automated surveillance.  The wording peed me off but what did I expect?

Anyway its done now, I can ride my bike without worrying about being pulled over for some stupid automated computer mistake.

Neurodiversity from all on the board

London Underground on neurodiversity

It was Leena who point me towards this tweet from @allontheboard.

Let’s celebrate the many positive aspects of being neurodiverse and break every stigma. You are not alone.

@allontheboard

#Neurodiversity #Neurodiverse #ADHD #Autism #Dyslexia #Dyspraxia #allontheboard

This is so great on so many levels and I recommend reading through the tweet replies.

Imagine one public transport card

Public transport NFC cards

I just came back from Madrid and while looking at my Madrid Metro card on the plane, thought imagine if you could use the same card in different locations? Its one of the reasons why I still use Uber, the ability to use it in different countries.

It was surprising to me that my Amsterdam OV-chipkaart which I bought back in 2006 was still active when I went back in 2016 actually; so I’ll be keeping my Metro card complete with its balance of about 4 rides. My Oyster card still worked when I moved away but as its 1st generation, isn’t manageable from the TFL website (I need to swap it out next time I’m in London).

Realistically it would be very difficult to get all these government entities to come to a common standard but its worth trying right? Although this might be all null, as its interesting to see the London Oyster slowly? being replaced by contactless debit/credit cards instead? That does seem to make much more sense and you can manage it from a web service and a app;  yep another bloody proprietary app (I’ve already had enough of each service having its own app!)

TFL contactless payment

It could be a great boom for public transport generally. Take the best of ride sharing services like Uber but for the public benefit. Think of it like the Japanese PASMO and SUCIA cards but based around standard NFC/contactless bank cards? Of course theres always the option of cash, phone and other NFC devices if you prefer.

 

Embracing e-paper displays in banners

Epaper bus stop

Read on BBC News that…

Transport for London is trialling e-paper bus stops that can display real-time travel information.

Fitted with solar-powered panels, they show how long passengers have to wait for the next buses, as well as route maps and timetables.

Although this is a small trial, it certainly indicates there might be more large scale use of epaper displays. To be fair its not the first time they have been used  Ideally I’d still like to see larger displays as I have talked about previously.

Of course display boards are nothing new in epaper. But what we really need is billboard size.

Is Metrolink ripping us off?

Metrolink in Manchester map

I went to the Sharp Project today for BBC Connected Studio which was great. But I noticed something with my travel there.

I have a year travel card which allows me to go between Piccadilly Station and Media City. However my pass actually says From City – To Eccles. I assume this allows me to go anywhere between Piccadilly or Victoria and Eccles. Sounds great but today I wanted to go to Central Park on the Oldham line (Rochdale on the one above, which includes lines which are yet to be finished)

As it was outside the city zone, I decided to pay for the extra 2 stops. 2.20 pounds worth of travel. I’m sure it was the same price as buying a ticket from anywhere in the city zone including Piccadilly. In fact it would make no difference that I had a year travel card (in theory)

Ok forget the cost, what I don’t understand is why there is no zones like Transport for London? Frankly Central Park is closer to central Manchester than Media City and Eccles.

The other day I went down to Cholton and totally forgot that my year pass only covers me between Media City and the City Zone. If Metrolink had caught me, who knows what it would have cost me in a fine. But to be honest I would have argued against it because frankly its a stupid system without zoning.

My thoughts is because Metrolink choose not to add zones, they are earning money from those who have spent money opting for a week, month or year pass and do happen to go other places.

Tell me I’m wrong…?

Thanks to Chris who left a comment on my Facebook with a link to this news article from the MEN.

Metrolink set to move to new ‘zone’ ticket prices

Greater Manchester’s tram system could be split into London Underground-style zones within two years. The plan is for the new system to come into force when ‘smart’ fare-payment cards – similar to the capital’s Oyster cards – are introduced in 2014.

Tram stops would be allocated to a zone depending on how far they are from central Manchester. Fares would vary accordingly – with journeys crossing more zones costing more. The proposals were due to be discussed by transport leaders tomorrow.

A view of the zones

I knew I was right…!