Transport for London (TfL) has reduced the operating hours for the Congestion Charge to help support a sustainable business recovery while still controlling traffic levels.

The changes are intended to strike a balance between reducing traffic and congestion and supporting London’s economy and a sustainable recovery

From 21 February, there will be no charges in the evenings after 18:00 in a return to pre-pandemic weekday charging hours, while operating hours on weekends and bank holidays will reduce to 12:00-18:00. The current charge level of £15 will be retained.

TfL is also suspending the charge between Christmas and the first working day of the new year to aid people travelling to see family over the festive period.

Other updates will see the residents’ discount reopened in February, but the Auto Pay and Fleet Auto Pay discount will be removed.

Introduced after a public consultation, they’re the latest changes to the Congestion Charge and come after TfL raised the charge from £11.50 to £15, and increased the operating hours to include evenings and weekends last year. This was undertaken as an emergency measure in the pandemic to ensure traffic was reduced and essential journeys could continue, in accordance with a condition in the May 2020 bail-out settlement from the Government.

TfL said the changes would directly address the traffic challenges in central London and continue work to reduce car dependency, especially at weekends during the day, while supporting the capital’s culture, hospitality and night-time businesses. The latter have been some of the hardest hit during the pandemic.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “These new changes strike a balance between reducing traffic and congestion and supporting London’s economy and residents and helping ensure our recovery is a green and sustainable one. The removal of the evening charge will support the capital’s culture, hospitality and night-time businesses which have struggled so much, as well as encouraging people to walk, cycle and use public transport. It’s vital we do not encourage a car-led recovery and replace one public health crisis with another due to filthy air.”

Commenting on the changes, Natalie Chapman, Logistics UK’s head of policy – south, said: “Logistics UK welcomes the announcement confirming the operational hours of the Congestion Charge will revert back to the original weekday timings in place before the Covid-19 pandemic. This will provide additional flexibility to retime deliveries to less congested times – with the potential to reduce emissions, improve the safety of vulnerable road users, and increase operational efficiency – and is supported by Logistics UK members.  

 “However, Logistics UK is disappointed that the charges will apply on weekends and bank holidays, and that the £15 charge level will be retained, but the fleet autopay discount removed. This simply amounts to an additional tax for logistics businesses who currently have little alternative but to use lorries and vans to keep London stocked with all the goods the population needs.”