All you need to know about the Congestion Charge and Clean Air Zones

If your fleet vehicles often travel into congestion-charged zones, you’ll want to consider updating your fleet if you haven’t switched to electric yet.

You’ve probably heard of having to pay to drive into central London.

Already one of the biggest and busiest cities in the UK, the London Congestion Charge was introduced in 2003 to help reduce traffic congestion and improve journey times during peak periods.

The Low Emission Zone (LEZ) was introduced in 2008 and focuses on larger vehicles such as vans and lorries. And in 2019, the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was put in place, which also includes Greater London as of August 2023, and covers all vehicles that don’t meet emission standards.

One of the ways the UK government is trying to reach the challenge of net-zero emissions by 2050 is through congestion charging.

And so other areas in the UK are starting to adopt their own low-emission zones in an effort to improve air quality and help develop the pathway to Net Zero.

Everything you need to know about congestion charges.

What are the Congestion Charge and Clean Air Zones?

Whether you’ve heard it called a Clean Air Zone, a low emissions zone or a congestion charge, they all do the same thing.

The Congestion Charge is a fee for driving into central London. Whether you have to pay or not depends on whether your vehicle meets Euro emissions standards.

A Clean Air Zone is exactly the same concept.

There are two different types, a charging zone and a non-charging zone. The charging zone makes drivers pay a fee if their vehicle doesn’t meet emission standards and a non-charging zone doesn’t charge drivers.

Including London’s ULEZ, the UK currently has 13 Low Emissions Zones, Clean Air Zones or Zero Emissions Zones. Nine of these zones currently charge.

There are different rules depending on where you’re visiting, so it’s important to check and do your research before you drive into a busy city. You can use a service on the government website to check if your vehicle is compliant.

How much is the London Congestion Charge?

The London Congestion Charge is £15 per day and only applies 07:00-18:00 Monday to Friday, 12:00-18:00 on Saturday, Sunday and on bank holidays. 

How much is the Clean Air Zone charge?

Operating 24 hours a day – except Christmas Day - you can expect to pay a £12.50 daily charge in the London ULEZ zone.

London’s LEZ zone only applies if you travel around London at night in a vehicle that exceeds 3.5 tonnes. You can expect to pay £100 if your vehicle meets Euro IV/4 or V/5 standards. Any vehicles that don’t meet IV/4 standards will be required to pay £300.

To find out about other cities’ charges, you can visit the government website to see how much you’d need to pay. To do this, you need your vehicle’s registration number.

Where is the Congestion Charge or Clean Air Zone?

You can expect to see signage around the Clean Air Zone zone to let you know you’re about to enter the boundary.

In London, as you enter Congestion Charge zone, there is a large letter C painted on the road and road signs, so it’s obvious that you’re about to enter the affected area.

For both zones, there aren’t any toll booths to stop at; cameras read a vehicle’s number plate when it enters the zone and then is checked against a database to see who’s paid, who hasn’t or who doesn’t need to pay.

How do you pay the Congestion Charge or Clean Air Zone charge?

Payment is made with a credit or debit card and can be paid in advance, on the day of travel, the next day, or within a custom date range. Different cities have different rules so make sure you check so you don’t get a penalty charge.

London for example increases the fee by £2.50 if you pay after the day of travel. But if payment isn’t received by midnight on the third day, you could be issued a fine of £160.

You can use the government website to pay for a vehicle charge or there’s also an option to set up a business account if you have multiple fleet vehicles entering the zone.

London has its own website for people to pay the Congestion Charge, ULEZ or LEZ charge.

Which UK cities have a charging Clean Air Zone?

• London (LEZ/ULEZ)
• Oxford
• Bath
• Birmingham
• Bradford
• Bristol
• Portsmouth
• Sheffield
• Tyneside (Newcastle and Gateshead)

The impact of congestion charging on fleets

The Congestion Charge or Clean Air Zone charges directly impact your fleet’s operational costs because if your fleet vehicles are frequently entering zones that are trying to improve air quality, these substantial charges will start to add up, especially if you have multiple fleet vehicles.

In fact, research by Peugeot UK found that Low Emissions Zones, Clean Air Zones and Zero Emissions Zones have generated more than £418 million in fees and penalty charges since March 2021, while Driving Monitor state that the extension of London’s ULEZ this August to cover all London boroughs will cost fleets an extra £54 million a year.

So, if your fleet vehicles often travel into these congested zones, you’ll probably want to consider an electric fleet.

With more and more cities introducing Clean Air Zones, fleets need to consider the advantages of switching to ultra-low or pure electric vehicles since they’re exempt from the charge.

With the government pushing for the 2030 ban on the sale of ICE vehicles, you’re probably already thinking about electrification, but your business could be saving a lot of money by avoiding the congestion charge.

Switching to electric vehicles isn’t a quick process, so it will take time to prepare for an EV fleet, but it does provide long-term benefits. There are government incentives in place to help businesses who are looking to upgrade their fleet to more environmentally friendly vehicles.

It’s also important to point out that although it’s currently unknown if this will be the case for other cities, all electric vehicles will no longer be exempt from London’s ULEZ charge from 25th December 2025.

So even with an electric vehicle fleet after this date, if your vehicles travel through and around greater London, you eventually might start trying to avoid these areas which can reduce your fleet’s efficiency, increase travel time and impact schedules, reducing your fleet’s overall productivity.

Benefits of driving an EV for fleets

• Fuel savings

With fuel prices hitting an all-time high in the last year, filling up your fuel tank has become very expensive. By switching to an electric car, the cost of charging is a lot cheaper, so you’ll be saving a substantial amount of money every month.

• Access to public charging

The UK’s EV charging network is constantly growing. According to Zap-Map, there were 40,496 EV charging points in the UK in March 2023.

Plus, if your fleet travels into London often, Zap-Map also says that the majority of the UK’s charging stations are located in London at 12,817. So, if range anxiety has stopped your fleet from upgrading its vehicles to electric, London is probably one of the best places to be driving EVs around thanks to its extensive charger network.

• Exempt from ULEZ and Congestion Charge

Until December 2025, electric vehicles are the only type of vehicle that are exempt from paying the ULEZ and Congestion Charge in London. Your fleet could save a lot on these charges in the next two years by switching to electric.

• EVs are easier to maintain

Since EVs have fewer moving parts, you tend to have less maintenance issues with them. This is ideal for a business fleet since you’ll have less down time and less disruption to your everyday operations.

• Brand positioning

By upgrading to an electric fleet, you can lower your business’ carbon footprint and hit your sustainability goals.

• Smoother driving experience

Your fleet drivers will appreciate the switch to electric too. EVs are well known for their quiet, comfortable and smooth driving experience, which is perfect if your fleet drivers spend a long day behind the wheel. This’ll maximise your employees’ performance and keep them satisfied.