Potential New Charge For Driving In London
9 Dec 2020
Driving in London has always been stressful, especially when going into the city centre. As well as the traffic that you have to contend with, there is also the emissions fee as well. This needs to be paid before you reach London as well.
However, it seems as though the local government of London is now looking to add additional fees and charges for people outside of the city who are driving to it.
What Is The New Non-Resident Charge in London?
According to the latest information coming from the capitol, it seems as though there will be a new charge of up to £3.50 per day for non-residents of London to drive within the city. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said that this is designed to cover the funding shortfall of the Transport for London (TFL).
Apparently, he has also stated that this is to address the “inequitable distribution of Vehicle Excise Duty” that is placed on drivers within London.
Instructions from the Mayor’s office to the TFL are to investigate whether this new Greater London Boundary Charge would be feasible, with the plan being to levy it on vehicles that are registered outside of the city bounds.
From data collected by Transport for London, roughly 1.3 million cars make daily trips down to London from outside of the city. This also means that each of those drivers is benefiting from the maintenance of London’s roads without actually contributing to it. As such, this new Greater London Boundary Charge is supposed to balance that out.
In an interview with Sadiq Khan, it was stated that “Londoners pay £500m worth of Vehicle Excise Duty every year, which is then spent on maintaining roads outside the capital. It is not fair on London that our drivers should subsidise the rest of the country’s roads and get nothing in return. The government must allow London to retain its share of VED and to support the capital’s transport system properly as in other world cities.”
This change is scheduled to come into effect in the near future, so if you are planning to make regular trips over to the capitol, you will need to start preparing for the daily fee you will need to pay moving forward.
Can The Greater London Boundary Charge Be Avoided?
If the Greater London Boundary charge does come into effect, then there will only be one way to avoid paying it; live in London and have your car registered in the city. There won’t be any work arounds based upon the information currently available to us.
Whilst £3.50 doesn’t sound a lot of money, it will definitely add up over the days, weeks and months - that goes for both the driver and Transport for London.
For those of us who commute to London for work, this is another fee that we will have to pay on a daily basis. So, make sure you budget for it as we move into the new year.
However, it seems as though the local government of London is now looking to add additional fees and charges for people outside of the city who are driving to it.
What Is The New Non-Resident Charge in London?
According to the latest information coming from the capitol, it seems as though there will be a new charge of up to £3.50 per day for non-residents of London to drive within the city. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said that this is designed to cover the funding shortfall of the Transport for London (TFL).
Apparently, he has also stated that this is to address the “inequitable distribution of Vehicle Excise Duty” that is placed on drivers within London.
Instructions from the Mayor’s office to the TFL are to investigate whether this new Greater London Boundary Charge would be feasible, with the plan being to levy it on vehicles that are registered outside of the city bounds.
From data collected by Transport for London, roughly 1.3 million cars make daily trips down to London from outside of the city. This also means that each of those drivers is benefiting from the maintenance of London’s roads without actually contributing to it. As such, this new Greater London Boundary Charge is supposed to balance that out.
In an interview with Sadiq Khan, it was stated that “Londoners pay £500m worth of Vehicle Excise Duty every year, which is then spent on maintaining roads outside the capital. It is not fair on London that our drivers should subsidise the rest of the country’s roads and get nothing in return. The government must allow London to retain its share of VED and to support the capital’s transport system properly as in other world cities.”
This change is scheduled to come into effect in the near future, so if you are planning to make regular trips over to the capitol, you will need to start preparing for the daily fee you will need to pay moving forward.
Can The Greater London Boundary Charge Be Avoided?
If the Greater London Boundary charge does come into effect, then there will only be one way to avoid paying it; live in London and have your car registered in the city. There won’t be any work arounds based upon the information currently available to us.
Whilst £3.50 doesn’t sound a lot of money, it will definitely add up over the days, weeks and months - that goes for both the driver and Transport for London.
For those of us who commute to London for work, this is another fee that we will have to pay on a daily basis. So, make sure you budget for it as we move into the new year.