London Evening Standard/London
Drivers of all diesel and most hybrid vehicles will be forced to pay the congestion charge in a crackdown on traffic and pollution.
Transport for London is tightening the rules to discourage motorists from buying cars that allow them to drive in central London for free.
It also wants to halt the enthusiasm for diesel cars — which now account for one in two sales — because they emit 22 times more soot particulates than petrol cars.
The Toyota Prius — a petrol vehicle with an electric engine — two-seater petrol and diesel Smart cars, and the petrol-driven Fiat 500, are among more than 50 “green” models that will no longer be exempt from the £10 charge.
The move will come into force in July if approved by Boris Johnson. It will raise an extra £1mn to £2mn a year — helping to reverse a £60mn slump in revenue since the scrapping of the zone’s western extension.
But it has sparked an outcry from motoring groups concerned that drivers who deliberately purchased “green” vehicles to avoid paying the C-charge will lose out.
Edmund King, AA president, said: “We do have real concerns about ‘green goalposts’ being moved after drivers and businesses have invested in low-emission hybrid and diesel vehicles. We need to encourage the take-up of a range of greener vehicles.”
About 70,000 motorists a day enter the congestion zone, with 2,500 qualifying for Transport for London’s Greener Vehicle Discount because they emit less than 100g/km of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
TfL wants to scrap this limit and replace it with a much tougher 75g/km maximum in a new scheme — which effectively rules out all hybrid and diesel vehicles now on the road.