This week the Mayor of London has revealed significant changes to the Congestion Charge system.
It has been decided to replace the existing 'Alternative Fuel Discount' with a 'Greener Vehicle Discount' (GVD), effective from 4 January 2011. As a result of recent technological advances to conventional vehicles, some petrol and diesel models are now greener than alternative fuels in terms of tailpipe emissions, so much so that some cars that qualify for 'Alternative Fuel Discounts' are more polluting than regular vehicles that have to pay.
Therefore the decision has been made to introduce the GVD scheme in which vehicles that produce low emissions are rewarded, irrespective of the technology used. The GVD specifies that cars that emit less than or equal to 100g/km of CO2 and meet Euro 5 emissions standards will qualify for a 100 percent discount (subject to a £10 annual registration fee).
Under the new scheme, all electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are also exempt, but 'conventional' hybrids are treated as petrol and diesel vehicles and only qualify if they meet the requirements.
In addition to these changes, the Western Extension of the Congestion Zone will be removed as of Christmas Eve 2010.
A new method of payment, called Auto Pay, will also be introduced. This logs how many days per month a registered vehicle has entered the Congestion Zone, automatically deducting a monthly payment from a specified bank account.
The Congestion Charge pricing will change on 4 January 2011 to:
- £10 if paid in advance or on the day of travel
- £12 if paid by midnight the day after travel
- £9 if registered for Congestion Charging Auto Pay
The new scheme will be monitored and the GVD criteria will be reviewed in 2012.
Thom Hudson - 26 Oct 2010