Changes proposed to the Congestion Charge to keep London moving, encourage the uptake of electric vehicles and promote sustainable travel

Transport for London (TfL) is today (Tuesday 27 May) seeking views on a number of changes to the Congestion Charge to help keep London moving, encourage the uptake of electric vehicles and promote sustainable travel across the capital.

Every year, congestion costs London billions of pounds – in 2024 alone vehicle congestion cost the capital £3.85 billion, averaging £942 per driver**. This heavily impacts businesses, bus customers and other essential services. The charge is in place to manage traffic and congestion in the heart of London – the central one per cent of the city – at the busiest times of day where road space is most constrained. TfL is consulting on changes to the Congestion Charging scheme to ensure that it remains efficient at reducing congestion for years to come, so that central London can continue to thrive.

These new proposals, launched in a public consultation starting today until 4 August 2025, will work to continue managing traffic effectively in central London, and contribute to the Mayor’s long-term vision for a cleaner, greener London, through increased uptake in electric vehicles and more journeys taken by public transport.

Achieving this long-term vision will require cutting congestion further and a greater shift away from petrol and diesel vehicles towards walking, cycling and public transport. It will also require, for those journeys that are taken by car or van, increased adoption of electric vehicles.

TfL has assessed the proposals in this consultation against a ‘do nothing’ scenario, which would include the end of the current version of the Cleaner Vehicle Discount (CVD) on 25 December 2025. Without TfL’s proposals, it estimates next year alone around 2,200 more vehicles would use the Congestion Charging Zone on an average weekday during charging hours – leading to increased congestion and undermining the current scheme.

To provide further support for people and businesses who have invested in, or are considering switching to an electric vehicle, TfL is proposing a new CVD from January 2026 that has a higher discount for journeys that are harder to switch to walking, cycling and public transport, such as those made by vans for commercial purposes. The discount will change over the timeframe outlined in the consultation to give support to those making the green transition, while also keeping London moving.

This builds on an ongoing package of support from City Hall for businesses to switch to zero emission, including the Mayor's scrappage scheme which has provided financial assistance to help eligible London residents, businesses and charities, to scrap, donate or retrofit vehicles that do not meet the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) emissions standards. Delivered jointly by the Mayor and TfL, the Mayor's Air Quality fund (MAQF) has provided boroughs with £27 million in funding, matched by £20 million in funding/resources from boroughs and partners to help projects working to improve air quality in the capital. This is alongside action to increase the number of public Electric Vehicles (EV) charging points in the capital to 40,000 by 2030.

The proposed new discount will be introduced in two phases: 

From 2 January 2026:

• 50 per cent discount for electric vans, Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), light quadricycles and heavy quadricycles registered for Auto Pay
• 25 per cent discount for electric cars registered for Auto Pay

From 4 March 2030:

• 25 per cent discount for electric vans, HGVs, light quadricycles and heavy quadricycles registered for Auto Pay
• 12.5 per cent discount for electric cars registered for Auto Pay

To make it easier for drivers to access the discount, it is proposed that it will be applied automatically from DVLA data, rather than having to separately register and prove a vehicle meets the standards. If the changes go ahead, drivers with eligible vehicles will simply need to sign up to Auto Pay to receive the discount.

The Congestion Charging Scheme is constantly kept under review and the charge level has been unchanged since 2020.

To ensure it remains effective, it is proposed that the charge level is increased from £15 to £18 from 2 January 2026 – the first increase in five years. Central London is already one of the world’s best-connected places, helping to support sustainable travel; zone one alone has 71 train stations and with 700 bus routes serving the London area, people living, working and visiting in the zone have many sustainable alternatives to driving. London's Cycleways total network is now more than 400km, quadrupling in size from just 90km in 2016.

From 1 March 2027, it is proposed that eligible new applicants for the 90 per cent Residents’ discount will only be able to receive the discount for an electric vehicle. This will help to incentivise the shift to the cleanest possible vehicles and give people moving into the zone time to plan ahead. Those who are already registered for the discount ahead of this date will not see any changes, reflecting that they might be reliant on their current form of transport.

TfL is also consulting on some proposed changes to the Mayor’s road user charging guidance, which would allow the Congestion Charge to be increased each year in line with Tube fares, inflation plus 1 per cent or a lower amount. These increases would only apply to the Congestion Charge and not the ULEZ. The new proposed procedure would create consistency with the approach that applies when public passenger transport fares are set and would ensure that public transport does not become proportionately more expensive than driving in central London.

When the Congestion Charge was introduced in 2003, there was a 30 per cent reduction in congestion within the zone and a 15 per cent reduction in circulating traffic in the first year. It also boosted bus travel by 33 per cent and contributed to a 10 per cent shift in people using public transport or active travel. Analysis shows there would have been three million additional journeys by car across London in 2019 without the changes TfL has introduced to encourage more sustainable travel patterns over the last couple of decades, of which the Congestion Charge was a critical first step.

Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: "Keeping London moving by reducing congestion is vital for our city and for our economy.

"The congestion charge has been a huge success since its introduction, but we must ensure it is fit for purpose.

"Sticking to the status quo would see around 2,200 more vehicles using the congestion charging zone on an average weekday next year.

"At the same time we must support Londoners and businesses to use greener and more sustainable travel. That’s why I’m pleased we’re proposing that substantial incentives remain in place for Londoners who switch to cleaner vehicles.

"We encourage everyone to have their say and respond to the public consultation."

Christina Calderato, TfL’s Director of Strategy, said: "Since it was introduced in 2003, the Congestion Charge has been hugely successful in supporting the move to more walking, cycling and public transport and encouraging the uptake of the cleanest vehicles. With these proposed changes we want to make sure it continues to be effective in managing traffic and congestion in central London while providing ongoing support to those who need to drive in the zone to make the switch to an electric vehicle. I would encourage people to respond to the consultation to help shape our plans."

Oliver Lord, UK Head of Clean Cities Campaign, said: "We’ve record numbers of polluting diesel vans in the UK so I’m thrilled the Mayor is helping to reward businesses that invest in greener fleets. By prioritising electric and pedal powered freight, we will all benefit from cleaner air and quieter streets.

"There’s no use having a Congestion Charge that nobody pays so I think today’s proposals strike a fair balance between its core aims around traffic and congestion, whilst also advancing our environmental goals."

Izzy Romilly, Sustainable Transport Campaigner at climate charity Possible, said: "To tackle the climate crisis, health inequalities, and air pollution, we have to tackle London’s high levels of traffic.

"We’ve got to look for the best and fairest ways to discourage unnecessary car trips, while also making sure that people who need to drive can switch to fully electric vehicles.

"Getting the balance right on the congestion charge discount for EVs means incentivising the switch to electric, while discouraging car journeys that could be taken in a different way.

"The bigger picture is that we need to make space for bus lanes, safe cycle paths, and walkable streets so that we can bring a lower traffic future to life - tackling air pollution, protecting the climate and creating places that are better to live in."

Sophie O'Connell, Senior policy adviser at the Green Alliance, said: "It’s great to see London continuing its leadership in encouraging the switch to cleaner vehicles through the proposed changes to the Clean Vehicle Discount. With larger incentives for electric vans and delivery vehicles, which have further to go in decarbonising, these changes target the right areas. The new measures send a clear signal: driving a polluting vehicle through central London should not be cheaper than taking public transport, making the cleaner choice the obvious one while supporting both public health and the environment."

*p28 of consultation supplementary information

**Source: ‘INRIX 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard: London most congested city in Europe; congestion costing the UK £7.7 billion’, INRIX, 6 January 2025, https://inrix.com/press-releases/2024-global-traffic-scorecard-uk (accessed 23 April 2025)