Last edited 23 Oct 2017

T-Charge

On 23rd October 2017, London's £10 T-charge came into effect as part of Mayor Sadiq Khan's attempt to tackle toxic car fumes. The change means that drivers of older, more polluting petrol and diesel cars who enter the centre of London are now liable for the new £10 charge on top of the existing £11.50 congestion charge.

Khan said the introduction of the T-charge would prepare the way for the Ultra Low Emission Zone being introduced in April 2019; an effort to improve the capital's air quality, which regularly exceeds legal pollution limits.

The charge is applicable to Pre-Euro 4 vehicles in all of central London to the south of King’s Cross station, to the east of Hyde Park, west of the Tower of London and north of Elephant and Castle. Pre-Euro 4 vehicles are typically those registered before 2006, but Transport for London suggests that anyone who has a vehicle registered before 2008 should check whether it is liable for the charge.

If drivers register to pay the congestion charge automatically, they can reduce the total daily levy by £1. People living within the specified central London zone and driving cars covered by the new charge are eligible to pay just £11.05 per day for the two, something that has led critics to claim that the increased charge will hit the poorest hardest.

Sadiq Khan said:

“As mayor, I am determined to take urgent action to help clean up London’s lethal air. The shameful scale of the public health crisis London faces, with thousands of premature deaths caused by air pollution, must be addressed.

“London now has the world’s toughest emissions ... This is the time to stand up and join the battle to clear the toxic air we are forced to breathe.”