Shares in public sector service firm Capita (CPI) gained 2% to 37.8p on news that it had secured an extension to its contract with Transport for London (TfL) to manage road levies.
In a deal worth £355 million, TfL has extended Capita’s work on the Congestion Charge, Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) for another five years from October 2021.
The ULEZ is due to be expanded from central London to the entire area within the North Circular (A406) and South Circular (A205) in October next year.
The contracts involve migrating the existing technology to the Cloud so that the ULEZ expansion can be rolled out smoothly.
ROAD SAFETY
The firm has also been contracted to run the registration and monitoring of the Direct Vision Standards service for heavy goods vehicles.
This is a scheme to ensure that truck drivers can see properly through their cab windows in order to cut the number of pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities every year.
Vehicles which are deemed unsafe will need to be modified or face being banned from London’s roads.
In total the firm expects to recruit and train an additional 900 people, most of whom - in a sign of the changing times - will be ‘encouraged to work from home.’
GREEN THEME
For investors who mark stocks on their ESG credentials, it’s worth noting the ULEZ scheme currently operated by Capita has reduced roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels in central London by 44% and 79% of vehicles entering the zone now meet its stringent emissions standards.
Expanding the zone next year is expected to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by around 30%, improving air quality.
