London congestion charge
The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone in Central London between 7:00am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00noon and 6:00pm Saturday and Sunday. Enforcement is primarily based on automatic number-plate recognition.
Inspired by Singapore's Electronic Road Pricing system after London officials had travelled to the country, the charge was first introduced on 17 February 2003. The London charge zone is one of the largest congestion charge zones in the world, despite the removal of the Western Extension which operated between February 2007 and January 2011. The charge not only helps to reduce high traffic flow in the city streets, but also reduces air and noise pollution in the central London area and raises investment funds for London's transport system.
The amount and details of the charge have changed over time. the standard charge is £15, Monday–Friday from 7:00am to 6:00pm, and 12:00noon to 6:00pm on Saturday and Sunday, for each non-exempt vehicle driven within the zone, with a penalty of between £65 and £195 levied for non-payment. The standard charge increased to £18 from 2 January 2026, with annual increases in line with public transport fares, and removal of some exemptions. The congestion charge does not operate between Christmas Day and New Years Day inclusive. In July 2013 the Ultra Low Emission Discount introduced more stringent emission standards that limit the free access to the congestion charge zone to all-electric cars, some plug-in hybrids, and any vehicle that emits 75 g/km or less of CO2 and meets the Euro 5 standards for air quality. On 8 April 2019, the Ultra Low Emission Zone was introduced, which applies 24/7 to vehicles which do not meet the emissions standards: Euro 4 standards for petrol vehicles, and Euro 6 or VI for diesel and large vehicles. In October 2021, the ULEZ was expanded to cover the Inner London area within the North and South Circular Roads, and in August 2023 to all of Greater London. The ULEZ replaced the T-charge which applied to vehicles below Euro 4 standard. Since 2021 the congestion charge exemption has applied only to pure electric vehicles; from January 2026 electric vehicles are subject to the charge, with a 25% discount from the full rate if they autopay.
Transport for London is responsible for the charge which has been operated by IBM since 2009. During the first ten years since the introduction of the scheme, gross revenue reached about £2.6 billion up to the end of December 2013. From 2003 to 2013, about £1.2 billion has been invested in public transport, road and bridge improvement and walking and cycling schemes. Of these, a total of £960 million was invested on improvements to the bus network.
Introduction of congestion charging was followed by a 10% reduction in traffic volumes from baseline conditions, and an overall reduction of 11% in vehicle kilometres in London between 2000 and 2012, though this does not prove that the reductions are due to the congestion charge. Despite these gains, traffic speeds have been getting progressively slower, particularly in central London. TfL explains that the historic decline in traffic speeds is most likely due to interventions that have reduced the effective capacity of the road network in order to improve the urban environment, increase road safety and prioritise public transport, pedestrian and cycle traffic, as well as an increase in roadworks by utilities and general development activity since 2006. TfL concluded in 2006 that, while levels of congestion in central London were close to levels before the charge was implemented, its effectiveness in reducing traffic volumes means that conditions would be worse without the congestion charging scheme, though later studies emphasise that causality has not been established.
Present scheme
Boundary
The current congestion charge zone covers the area within the London Inner Ring Road which includes both the City of London, which is the main financial district, and also the West End, which is London's primary commercial and entertainment centre. Although primarily a commercial area, there are also 136,000 residents, out of a total Greater London population of almost 9,000,000. There is little heavy industry within the zone.Starting at the northernmost point and moving clockwise, the major roads defining the boundary are Pentonville Road, City Road, Old Street, Commercial Street, Mansell Street, Tower Bridge Road, New Kent Road, Elephant and Castle, Kennington Lane, Vauxhall Bridge Road, Park Lane, Edgware Road, Marylebone Road and Euston Road. Signs were erected and symbols painted on the road to help drivers recognise the congestion charge area.
The Western Extension, introduced in February 2007 and removed on 4 January 2011, included areas surrounded by the following roads starting from the north-westernmost point: Scrubs Lane, Harrow Road, Westway, Park Lane, Vauxhall Bridge Road, Grosvenor Road, Chelsea Embankment, Earl's Court Road and part of the West Cross Route, but the Westway itself was not part of the zone.
Charges
Charges change—usually increase—and conditions and exemptions change from time to time. Current charges are listed on the official Web site.In January 2013, Transport for London opened a public consultation to increase the standard charge by 15% by mid 2014, from £10 per day to £11.50, if paid in advance or on the day. The increase was expected to generate an estimated £84 million of additional revenue by the end of 2017/18. The consultation process ran from January 2014 to March 2014. According to TfL, the objective of the increase was to recoup inflation over the past three years and ensure the charge remains an effective deterrent to making unnecessary journeys in central London.
On 15 May 2020, the Congestion Charge was re-implemented following a period of suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Date | Charge | Increase | Increase per year |
| February 2003 | £5 | – | - |
| July 2005 | £8 | 60% | 26.7%pa |
| January 2011 | £10 | 25% | 4.5%pa |
| June 2014 | £11.50 | 15% | 4.4%pa |
| June 2020 | £15.00 | 30.4% | 5.1%pa |
Fees and penalties
In June 2020 the penalty charges became:The standard fee is £15 per day if paid in advance, by midnight on the day of travel, or if registered with Fleet Auto Pay or CC Autopay, an automated payment system which records the number of charging days a vehicle travels within the charging zone each month and bills the customer debit or credit card each month, or £17.50 if paid by midnight the third day after travel. Failure to pay after the third day after travel results in the issuance of a Penalty Charge Notice for £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 14 days, but increased to £240 if unpaid after 28 days.
The standard charge increased to £18 from 2 January 2026, with annual increases in line with public transport fares, and removal of some exemptions.
Discounts and exemptions
Refunds are available to people who pay monthly or annually in advance whose plans change; reimbursements are available to NHS patients assessed to be too ill to travel by public transport, NHS staff using vehicles on official business, and care home employees. Residents living within or very close to the zone are eligible for a 90% discount which is charged via CC Autopay.Until 2021, the system gave 100% discounts to registered cars which emit 75 g/km or less of carbon dioxide and meet the Euro 5 emission standard, vehicles with nine or more seats, motor-tricycles, two-wheeled motorcycles, mopeds, accredited breakdown companies, and roadside recovery vehicles. All-electric vehicles and eligible plug-in hybrid electric vehicles qualify for a 100% congestion charge discount until 2026, when they will pay the full charge, with a 25% discount if registered for autopay. A plug-in electric drive vehicle qualifies if the vehicle is registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and has a fuel type of "electric", or alternatively, if the vehicle is a "plug-in hybrid" and is on the government's list of PHEVs eligible for the OLEV grant.
Wheelchair-accessible taxis and private hire vehicles are exempt from the charge; until April 2019 all PHVs were.
As of September 2025, TfL gave exemptions or discounts to the groups below:
| Group | Number |
| Blue badge | 186,066 |
| Cleaner vehicle discount | 74,104 |
| Resident | 17,021 |
| Fleet | 22,184 |
| 9+ seater | 4,485 |
| Recovery vehicle | 170 |
| Motor tricycles | 557 |
| Selected partner | 136 |
| Accredited breakdown | 38 |