New car road tax guideCongestion charges explained

The Toyota Prius is currently exempt from the congestion charge

The London Congestion Charge was the world’s first city-centre charging scheme. It has evolved over the years since its introduction in 2003, from a pure congestion charge into an emissions-based system.

Currently, all cars entering the zone between 7am and 6pm on weekdays are charged £8. Exemptions include motorcycles, electric cars such as the G-Wiz, hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Lexus RX400h, and alternative-fuel cars such as those running on LPG (but not biofuels), as Transport for London (TfL) considers these models to be less polluting than regular models.

All alternative-fuel vehicles must be registered with TfL, and cars have to be listed on the ‘Powershift’ register for free-charge eligibility: this means, for example, a BMW 116i can be converted to run on LPG, and be charge-exempt.

'Environmental charge'

In 2008, proposals were made by then Mayor Ken Livingstone to charge cars in Band G – those emitting more than 225g/km – £25 a day, instead of £8. At the same time, cars in Band B, which emit 120g/km or less, would have been free. This would have furthered the shift from a congestion charge into an environmental charge.

Controversially, this meant a modern Ford Focus diesel would have escaped the charge, whereas an older 2.2 Vauxhall Zafira would have had to pay £25. Sports car maker Porsche took the matter to the High Court, and won a consent order, quashing the charge. New Mayor Boris Johnson has since scrapped the planned changes.

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Many boroughs in London offer free parking for the greenest machines exempt from the charge – such as electric cars. However, as these models increase in popularity, councils are reversing this decision. Many find this a frustrating penalty for larger numbers going green.

Most major cities would like some sort of congestion-charging scheme, to help reduce traffic. But so far, only Manchester has a scheme on the table, scheduled to be running by 2013. 

This would charge drivers £2 to enter a zone within the M60 between 7am-9.30am, plus a further £1 to enter the city centre zone. There would be a further £1 charge to leave each zone between 4pm-6.30pm. 

Those entering outside those times, or going ‘against’ the flow, would not be charged.

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