London’s Congestion Charges are to hit more vehicles than ever following a raft of new changes announced by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The Congestion Charges have been introduced to reduce traffic and improve air quality according to Khan, but the plan to charge pure-electric models from 2025 has confused many drivers.
More controversially, private hire cars, including minicabs and Uber, will have to pay the £11.50 charge from April 2019, as will hybrid cars which will no longer have an exemption.
The new rules come following an extensive public consultation, which saw 10,000 responses, many of which backed the harsher rules for driving in the capital.
“Toxic air pollution in London is a major public health crisis that is stunting the lung development of our children and leads to thousands of premature deaths and increases the risk of asthma and dementia,” Khan said in his announcement.
“We have to make tough decisions to protect the health and well-being of Londoners and tackle harmful emissions from the most polluting vehicles.
“We've prioritised cleaning up our bus fleet and the early introduction of the 24-hour Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London.
“Now we need private hire vehicles and taxis to play their part and help us clean up our filthy air.”