Congestion charge - London

Ommbiance

We are planning to travel to London on a Saturday soon. We will get there by 9am, and be parking in the National Theatre car park (within the charge zone).  We will leave after 6pm.

Am I able to avoid the charge because I'm not actually driving during the charge period, or am I charged by being in the congestion zone during the charge period?  I'm guessing I'd be OK but would be happier hearing from somone who knows for definite !

Bigwheels1111

First I would regester for a TFL account just in case.

My car is exempt so cant help with times.

ontheroad1970

From the official website:

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge#:~:text=The%20Congestion%20Charge%20is%20a,Day%20bank%20holiday%20(inclusive).

he Congestion Charge is a £15 daily charge if you drive within the Congestion Charge zone 7:00-18:00 Monday-Friday and 12:00-18:00 Sat-Sun and bank holidays. No charge between Christmas Day and New Year's Day bank holiday (inclusive).

DullGreyGuy

The charge is for driving in the zone not being in the zone.

jimbo6977

DullGreyGuy said:

The charge is for driving in the zone not being in the zone.

Which makes sense because otherwise it would be a 5-grand-plus annual tax on anyone who lived in the zone and simply owned a non exempt vehicle, whether they used it or not. 

uknick

DullGreyGuy said:

The charge is for driving in the zone not being in the zone.

Just to clarify, did you mean the charge is or driving "into" the zone and not "in" the zone?

Grumpy_chap

jimbo6977 said:

 Which makes sense because otherwise it would be a 5-grand-plus annual tax on anyone who lived in the zone and simply owned a non exempt vehicle, whether they used it or not. 

I don't think there are any exempt vehicles for congestion charge.

uknick said:

DullGreyGuy said:

The charge is for driving in the zone not being in the zone.

Just to clarify, did you mean the charge is or driving "into" the zone and not "in" the zone?

Driving "in" the zone or "into" the zone. 
If your journey starts outside the zone and you pass through the zone or end in the zone, you pay
If your journey starts in the zone and end outside the zone, you pay
If your journey starts in the zone, stays in the zone and ends in the zone, you pay.
If you don't drive in the zone, you don't pay

geordiejon

Do I pay if I park in a car park in the Congestion Zone?

The charge only applies when you actually drive your car in the congestion zone during the congestion charge period (7am–6pm Monday–Friday, 12pm–6pm Saturday & Sunday).

If you leave your car in a car park for a few days, you don’t have to pay the congestion charge on the days you don’t use your car. You only pay the charge for the day you drive to or from the car park IF it’s during the congestion charge period.

dil1976

You can set your vehicle up for auto pay, where you get a invoice at the end of every month so you know what you need to pay if you have been inside the Congestion zone, this also covers the ULEZ. Been a while since I used this so it may of changed a bit, but i did find it useful when working down there a few years ago.

Car_54

Grumpy_chap said:

jimbo6977 said:

 Which makes sense because otherwise it would be a 5-grand-plus annual tax on anyone who lived in the zone and simply owned a non exempt vehicle, whether they used it or not. 

I don't think there are any exempt vehicles for congestion charge.

When the congestion charge was proposed many years ago, the recovery industry lobbied for an exemption for breakdown vehicles.

The civil servants agreed that we were part of the solution, not the problem, but the mayor had committed to having no exemptions at all.

We didn't get an exemption, but eventually won  a 100% discount. Sir Humphrey would have been proud.

These days there are quite a lot of other exemptions and discounts, e.g. residents, blue badge holders, minibuses., taxis, etc.

Grumpy_chap

Car_54 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

jimbo6977 said:

 Which makes sense because otherwise it would be a 5-grand-plus annual tax on anyone who lived in the zone and simply owned a non exempt vehicle, whether they used it or not. 

I don't think there are any exempt vehicles for congestion charge.

When the congestion charge was proposed many years ago, the recovery industry lobbied for an exemption for breakdown vehicles.

The civil servants agreed that we were part of the solution, not the problem, but the mayor had committed to having no exemptions at all.

We didn't get an exemption, but eventually won  a 100% discount. Sir Humphrey would have been proud.

These days there are quite a lot of other exemptions and discounts, e.g. residents, blue badge holders, minibuses., taxis, etc.

Aaah - OK.

At the beginning there was an exemption for EV's, so I was thinking in the context of "normal" cars when commenting.