£182 Million In London Congestion Charges & Fines — Mostly Fines — In 1 Year
Citroën UK recently received data from Transport for London (TfL) via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request and determined from the data that UK drivers (or “motorists” as they call them) had been fined £130 million for not paying the London Congestion Charge after going into the city in non-electric cars over a 12 month period. Another £52 million was paid as required.
One key takeaway: get an electric car. You can avoid congestion charges as well as fines for not paying congestion charges if you have an electric car. In particular, Citroën used this information to pitch its electric ë-C4 compact hatchback, ë-SpaceTourer MPV, and ë-Dispatch van.
Notably, the congestion charge has been growing, to encourage more people to driving zero-emissions vehicles or not enter high-traffic, high-pollution areas where air quality is not at adequate levels for human health. The specific rules regarding the noted London Congestion Charge are described succinctly here by Citroën: “The fee, which was increased from £11.50 to £15 from June 2020, alongside an extended seven-days-per-week charging window, is levied on vehicles that do not meet strict exemption criteria — namely emitting less than 75g/km of CO2 and having a minimum 20-mile zero emissions range. Failure to pay the London Congestion Charge results in a fine of £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 14 days.” More than 817,000 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) were sent to vehicle owners in the 12 months leading up to September 2020.
There are now dozens of electric vehicle models on the UK market, and 13.7% of new automobile sales were sales of plugin vehicles in January 2021, with nearly 7% being sales of fully electric vehicles. More and more UK motorists are driving into London worry free, hassle free, and for free — with their brand new electric vehicles. Since Citroën requested, analyzed, and shared these data on congestion charge fees and fines, consider looking at the details of its electric models here (just be sure to focus on the electric versions, as the webpages include info on both electric and fossil fuel versions):
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