If proposals put forward by Transport For London are ratified, cars that produce 120 g/km of CO2 or less will shortly be exempt from the London Congestion Charge, which is currently £8 a day. Currently, only electric vehicles or Hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius or Honda Hybrid were exempt from the charge and clearly, the £8 a day saving has been a major factor in selling this type of car to companies or individuals that regularly travel into London. If these changes come into force, a huge number of vehicles will then qualify below that 120 g/km figure.
As part of these proposals, there will also be a sliding scale of charges which will see vehicles that produce higher CO2 levels pay more for the Congestion Charge and rumours suggest that for the worst offending vehicles, the charge could increase up to as much as £25 a day.
Being sceptical, you have to wonder if placing a sliding scale of CO2 related to charges, simply will make it easier long term to implement increases as and when they want, or of course lower the bar if they feel that way.
