New Congestion Charge proposals

Consultation update 16 December 2021

The consultation outcomes 

Between 28 July and 6 October 2021 we held a public consultation on proposed changes to the Congestion Charge. 

A total of 9,680 responses were received including 92 from stakeholders. Thank you to all those who took part. 

We analysed these responses and considered all of the issues raised in our Report to the Mayor. This has supporting appendices A to B, appendices C to D and appendices E to H. The Report to the Mayor is lengthy so we have also produced a short Summary of the consultation report. These documents can also be found in the 'Documents' section of this website.

The Mayor’s decision

The Mayor considered the consultation responses on 15 December 2021 and the Mayoral Decision is available on the GLA's website. 

The changes will be delivered in two phases. The first phase will implement measures that do not require significant systems or infrastructure changes as soon as possible following Mayoral decision. Changes that involve new signage and back-office systems, namely the changes to operating hours will be introduced on 21 February 2022 due to their more complex implementation requirements. 

Phase 1 (from 20 December 2021)

• The charge level will be £15
• No charge will be applied between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day bank holiday inclusive. This means the period from Saturday 25 Dec 2021 to Monday 3 January 2022 (inclusive) will not be charged. 
• The 90% residents’ discount will be re-opened for all eligible residents to register for the discount
• The delayed payment charge will be £17.50 and the deadline will be extended for making a delayed payment to three days after the day of travel
• The Auto Pay and Fleet Auto Pay discount will be removed
• The reimbursement arrangements that were introduced as part of the temporary changes will be retained or adapted to ensure that people most vulnerable to infection from epidemics and pandemics will continue to be protected. This will also facilitate essential trips made by NHS staff in times of exceptional or extraordinary circumstances including for commuting purposes. 
• The ability for residents to pay by App or online for multiple consecutive charging days will be removed 

Phase 2 (from 21 February 2022)

• The operating hours for the Congestion Charge will be 07:00-18:00 on weekdays and 12:00-18:00 on weekends and Bank Holidays

The Mayor agreed actions to mitigate the impacts of the changes. Full details of these can be found in section 6.2 of the Report to the Mayor and the Summary of the consultation report.

The Mayor also agreed modifications to the Variation Order (this is legal document setting out the basis for the proposed changes). Full details of these can be found in section 6.2 of the Report to the Mayor.

-update ends-

Overview

Transport for London is proposing changes to the central London Congestion Charge.

Since its implementation in 2003, TfL has made changes to the Congestion Charge to ensure it remains effective, including changes to discounts and exemptions, charge level and days/times of operation. Last year we made temporary changes to the charge in response to the transport challenges presented by the pandemic, including operating daily until 22:00.

Our proposals

The proposals we are now consulting on are:

• A daily charge of £15
• Reducing the hours of operation from 07:00 to 22:00 each day, to between 07:00-18:00 Monday to Friday and between 12:00-18:00 at weekends and on Bank holidays
• There would be no charge between Christmas and New Year
• A discount of 90% for residents living in the Congestion Charge zone
• A pay next day charge of £17.50, and the deadline for making a delayed payment is three days after the day of travel
• No discount for payments made by Auto Pay or Fleet Auto Pay
• Retain reimbursement arrangements which would apply in exceptional circumstances

The new proposals are part of the commitment by the Mayor of London and TfL to reduce traffic and congestion in central London. This would improve London’s air quality and encourage more journeys to be made by walking, cycling or public transport.

Have your say

We would like to hear your views on these proposals for changes to the Congestion Charge.

You can do this by completing the online survey on this site, providing your comments no later than Wednesday 6 October 2021.

We also want this consultation to be accessible to everyone. There is an Easy Read version of our materials in the ‘Documents’ section. There is also an Easy Read version of our survey. In the bottom right-hand corner there are also British Sign Language videos of the proposals and the survey (audio versions of these are available in the 'Documents' section). If you need to translate this page into another language, please use the ‘Select language’ button in the bottom-left hand corner of this page.

To take part you will need to register with your email address. Your details will be kept secure and only used, with your permission, to update you about the outcome of the consultation and our next steps.

If you prefer not to complete the survey, then please submit your response to us in writing to ccyourview@tfl.gov.uk or FREEPOST TFL HAVE YOUR SAY (no stamp needed).

Information to help you respond

Have a look at our Frequently Asked Questions. These will be updated during the consultation as questions come in.

There is additional information in the ‘Documents’ section of this page. This includes:

• A summary of our proposals
• A map of the congestion charge zone
• Easy read versions of the materials and survey

If you’d like more detailed information, there is also:

• Supplementary information - this contains information on the Congestion Charge scheme, the proposed changes to the scheme including why we are proposing them, the expected traffic impacts as well as the potential wider impacts
• Integrated Impact Assessment - the full IIA is a lengthy report and contains more information on our rationale as to why change is needed, plus forecast impacts of the proposed changes on travel patterns, the environment, people (health and equalities) and economy/business. The report has an Executive Summary.
• Variation Order - a legal document setting out the basis for the proposed changes
• A copy of our consultation survey, in case you would prefer to complete it offline and post it to our Freepost address (which is FREEPOST TFL HAVE YOUR SAY)