The London Congestion Charge is a payment of £8 for each day your vehicle travels within the center of London called the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ). It only applies to weekday, Monday to Friday and only between 7am and 6pm and does not include Public and Bank Holidays or any days between Christmas Day, 25th December and New Years Day, 1st. January.
Entering the charge zone without paying will ultimately result in a fine, a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), from the Transport of London (TfL) of between £60 and £180 so whether or not you go into the center of London on a regular basis, or just for a visit, you will at some point need to know and prepare for these charges. Lack of knowledge will not exempt you from these substantial fines and you are liable a soon as you cross over into the Congestion Charge Zone. However, if you are a private driver you do get the option of paying the day after, for £10, a £2 increase. Once you do pay for any day you are free to drive around the zone as much as you wish, the charge is on a per day per vehicle basis.
The Congestion Charge Zone was rolled out on 17 February 2003 but exactly four years later was extended further west of London center on 19 February 2007. It covers areas of Bayswater, Notting Hill, North and South Kensington, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Brompton, Belgravia, Pimlico, Victoria, St. James’s, Waterloo, Borough, City of London, Clerkenwell, Finsbury, Holborn, Bloomsbury, Soho, Mayfair and parts of Marylebone. Travelling to any of these areas needs consideration of either paying for the charge or finding ways to avoid it. The boundary roads that go around the outside of this area are free of the charges and the area is well marked by having signs and road markings with the infamous white “C” in a red circle. There is a way of going through the zone without incurring charges, going through EdgeWare Road, Park Lane and Vauxhall Bridge Road is a route that goes North-South through the center, freely. Another route goes through the zone in the North-West called the Westway.
There are no tollbooths or barriers to cross, your vehicle is spotted by the cameras around the zone and the automatic number plate recognition system takes your Vehicle Registration Number (VRN) and checks it against a database of those who have paid, exempt or registered for a 100% discount. The image of your vehicle is automatically destroyed if you have paid or are exempt but is kept and used as evidence when a fine is issued.
The Congestion Charge Payment can be done online at cclondon.com or by your mobile on the day on 0845 900 1234, however you need to register your credit or debit card first. There are selected shops and petrol stations both inside and outside of the zone and they will have a “congestion charge pay here” or a simple “epay” logo sign. Even post can be used if it is done so it is received at least 10 days before travel. There are a number of discounts available for constant use over a long period of time. A monthly charge of £136 or annually of £1,696, that will save you respectively £24 or £320.