End to zero-emission discount in London’s congestion zones

Motorists who currently benefit from a hefty discount for driving zero-emissions vehicles in London’s congestion zones will have to pay the standard charge from the end of next year.

Transport for London (TfL) announced that from 25 December 2025, drivers who previously paid £10 for a year’s exemption from congestion charges will have to pay the standard £15 daily fee.

The move has been criticised by environmental groups and the Federation for Small Businesses but is supported by the Green Party.

TfL said the discount had been part of a phased scheme to tackle London’s toxic air.

It said that ending the discount “will maintain the effectiveness of the congestion charge, which is in place to manage traffic and congestion in the heart of London”.

Currently 112,318 cars and vans are registered for the discount, according to figures obtained from TfL. Of these, 15,782 are private hire vehicles.

Oliver Lord from campaign group Clean Cities called the change “puzzling”.

“By offering incentives to businesses for electric vehicles, we not only promote greener transport but we also draw a line against the most polluting freight vehicles.”

Alex Pierce, from electric car support company GoinGreen, said “environmentally and economically, this makes no sense”.

He said customers who buy electric cars “because they are cheaper and hassle free when you want to go into central London…will go back to buying diesel or hybrid which is worse for the environment”.

The Federation for Small Businesses said the scheme should be extended to help business owners who already face heavy costs and have invested in electric infrastructure.

But the Green Party said these incentives “were always going to be time limited”.

Caroline Russell AM said: “If every Londoner drives an electric car we won’t tackle congestion, air pollution or the climate crisis.

“The best solution to any concerns about unfairness in changes like this is to move to smart, fair road user charging.”