London's Congestion Charge Just Got More Complicated — Here's What Every Driver Needs to Know

If you've driven into central London recently, you'll already know the Congestion Charge is one of those facts of motoring life you simply can't ignore. But from the start of 2026, the rules shifted again — and this time, the changes are more nuanced than a simple price hike. A new tiered discount structure has arrived alongside a fee increase, and depending on what you drive and how you pay, your daily cost could vary by nearly £10. Get it wrong, and you could be paying far more than necessary — or worse, racking up penalty charges without realising it.

What Actually Changed on 2 January 2026

The headliner is straightforward: the standard Congestion Charge rose to £18 per day, up from £15. That's a 20% increase — significant by any measure, and one that will sting commuters, tradespeople, and fleet operators alike.

But the more interesting development is what sits beneath that headline figure. Transport for London (TfL) has introduced a tiered discount framework that creates meaningfully different costs depending on your vehicle type and payment method:

• Standard rate (all vehicles, any payment method): £18 per day
• Electric cars registered for Auto Pay: £13.50 per day
• Electric vans and HGVs registered for Auto Pay: £9 per day

That bottom tier is striking. An electric HGV operator using Auto Pay is paying exactly half the standard rate. For a fleet running dozens of vehicles into the zone daily, that difference compounds rapidly — we're talking tens of thousands of pounds annually.

The charge applies between 07:00 and 18:00, Monday to Friday, and 12:00 to 18:00 on weekends and bank holidays. These hours have remained unchanged, but it's worth restating them clearly: many drivers still get caught out assuming the charge doesn't apply on Saturdays.

Why This Matters: The Bigger Picture

The Congestion Charge was introduced in February 2003 under then-Mayor Ken Livingstone, making London one of the first major cities in the world to implement large-scale urban road pricing. At launch, it cost £5. It has now risen to £18 — a 260% increase over roughly two decades. Even accounting for inflation, that's a substantial real-terms increase in the cost of driving into the capital.

The charge is administered by TfL under powers granted by the Greater London Authority Act 1999 and subsequent Transport for London Act provisions. The legal framework gives the Mayor of London broad discretion to set charge levels and exemption categories, which is why these changes don't require parliamentary approval — they're made through TfL's own governance processes, subject to mayoral direction.

What's particularly significant about the 2026 restructure is the explicit incentivisation of electric vehicles through the payment mechanism, not just vehicle type. The discount isn't automatic for EV owners — you must be registered for Auto Pay to access the reduced rate. That's a deliberate policy choice. TfL wants drivers embedded in its payment ecosystem, generating cleaner data on vehicle movements and reducing the administrative overhead of daily manual payments.

For fleet operators, this creates both an opportunity and a compliance obligation. Miss the Auto Pay registration, and your electric van pays the same £18 as a diesel lorry.

The Legal Angle: What Drivers Are Actually Entitled To

The Congestion Charge is not a fine — it's a statutory charge levied under the Road User Charging (Charges and Penalty Charges) (London) Regulations 2001, as amended. This distinction matters because it affects how disputes are handled.

If you fail to pay the charge, TfL issues a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) — currently set at £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days. These PCNs are issued under civil enforcement powers, not criminal law, which means the process for challenging them differs from a criminal prosecution.

Crucially, you have the right to make representations against a PCN if you believe it was issued incorrectly. Common grounds include:

• Vehicle exemption not recognised — if your EV or hybrid was incorrectly categorised and charged at the full rate
• Auto Pay registration errors — if you were registered but the discount wasn't applied
• Technical failures — if TfL's systems failed to register your payment correctly
• Incorrect vehicle registration data — a surprisingly common issue when fleet vehicles change hands or are newly registered

If your informal representation is rejected, you can escalate to a formal representation, and ultimately to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal — an independent adjudicator that TfL is legally obliged to accept the decisions of. Drivers who have been incorrectly charged full rate when entitled to a discount have a legitimate basis for appeal, and the Tribunal takes evidence of Auto Pay registration seriously.

One important nuance: the exemption for fully electric vehicles is not permanent. TfL has historically reviewed and modified EV exemptions — the current discount structure replaced what was previously a full exemption for EVs. There is no legal guarantee that the £13.50 rate will persist beyond the current scheme period, so fleet operators should not build long-term financial models on the assumption it will remain.

What Drivers Should Know: Practical Advice

Whether you're a daily commuter, an occasional visitor to central London, or managing a commercial fleet, here's what you actually need to do:

1. Register for Auto Pay if you drive an eligible EV This is the single most important action for EV drivers. Auto Pay registration must be completed through TfL's official website. The discount is not applied retrospectively to manual payments — if you pay day-by-day without Auto Pay, you pay £18 regardless of what you drive.

2. Check your vehicle's classification in TfL's system TfL maintains a database of vehicle types linked to registration plates. Errors do occur, particularly with newer EV models or recently converted vehicles. Log into your TfL account and verify that your vehicle is correctly categorised as electric before assuming the discount applies.

3. Keep records of Auto Pay registration confirmation If you're later issued a PCN at the full rate despite being registered for Auto Pay, you'll need documentary evidence to support an appeal. Save your registration confirmation email and take screenshots of your account showing the vehicle details and discount tier.

4. Fleet operators: audit your entire vehicle list With the gap between the standard rate and the EV discount now £4.50 per vehicle per day, a fleet of 20 electric vans entering the zone daily saves £90 per day — or roughly £23,400 per year — compared to paying the standard rate. That's worth an hour of your fleet manager's time to verify.

5. Don't assume bank holidays are free The charge applies on bank holidays that fall on weekdays. The only days the zone is entirely suspended are Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Many drivers still make the mistake of assuming public holidays mean no charge.

6. Check whether your route actually enters the zone The Congestion Charge zone boundary is clearly mapped on TfL's website. With the cost now at £18, it's worth double-checking whether your regular route genuinely enters the zone or whether a minor diversion keeps you outside it — particularly if you're making multiple trips per week.

Looking Ahead: Where Does This Go From Here?

The 2026 changes feel like a stepping stone rather than a destination. The introduction of a tiered structure — rather than a simple flat rate with an EV exemption — suggests TfL is moving towards a more sophisticated road pricing model, one that could eventually differentiate by time of day, vehicle size, emission level, and frequency of use.

There is growing political appetite, both in London and nationally, for pay-per-mile road pricing to eventually replace or supplement existing charges. The Department for Transport has commissioned research into national road pricing, and London's Congestion Charge has always been the testbed for these ideas. The tiered Auto Pay structure introduced in 2026 is, in effect, the infrastructure for more granular pricing already being built.

For EV drivers, the trajectory is clear: the full exemption is gone, the discounted rate will likely narrow over time, and eventually electric vehicles will pay broadly comparable rates to internal combustion engine cars. The current £13.50 rate is a transitional incentive, not a permanent entitlement.

For fleet operators and logistics companies, the message is equally clear: electrification saves money right now, but the window in which EVs enjoy a meaningful cost advantage inside the Congestion Charge zone is finite. The business case for transitioning fleets to electric should be made on total cost of ownership — not on the assumption that today's discounts will last indefinitely.

The Congestion Charge has always been as much about behaviour change as revenue generation. The 2026 restructure continues that tradition — rewarding certain choices while making others progressively more expensive. Understanding exactly where you sit within that structure isn't just useful. At £18 a day, it's essential.