Transport for London (TfL) is seeking views on several changes to the Congestion Charge, which include potentially raising the basic charge from £15 to £18 in 2026 – the first increase in five years – while offering greater discounts for electric vehicles.

Every year, congestion costs London billions of pounds – in 2024 alone vehicle congestion cost the capital £3.85bn, averaging £942 per driver. The charge is in place to manage traffic and congestion in the heart of London – the central 1% of the city – at the busiest times of day where road space is most constrained.

TfL is now 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 running until August 4, 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 EVs and more journeys taken by public transport.

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 December 25, 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 EV, 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 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 £27m in funding, matched by £20m 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 EV charging points in the capital to 40,000 by 2030.

The proposed new CVD discount will be introduced in two phases:

From January 2, 2026:

50% discount for electric vans, heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), light quadricycles and heavy quadricycles registered for Auto Pay.
25% discount for electric cars registered for Auto Pay.

From March 4, 2030:

25% discount for electric vans, HGVs, light quadricycles and heavy quadricycles registered for Auto Pay.
5% 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 January 2, 2026 – the first increase in five years.

From March 1, 2027, it is proposed that eligible new applicants for the 90% residents’ discount will only be able to receive the discount for an electric vehicle. This will help to incentivize the shift to the cleanest possible vehicles and give people moving into the zone time to plan.

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% or a lower amount. These increases would only apply to the Congestion Charge and not the ULEZ.

When the Congestion Charge was introduced in 2003, there was a 30% reduction in congestion within the zone and a 15% reduction in traffic circulating in the first year. It also boosted bus travel by 33% and contributed to a 10% shift in people using public transport or active travel.

“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,” said Christina Calderato, TfL’s director of strategy.

“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,” she added.