{"id":1463,"date":"2014-09-15T16:06:02","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T15:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/?p=1463"},"modified":"2014-09-15T16:06:02","modified_gmt":"2014-09-15T15:06:02","slug":"what-is-the-congestion-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge","title":{"rendered":"What is the Congestion Charge?"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><strong>The Congestion Charge:<\/strong>\n&nbsp;\n    <br \/> An \u00a311.50 fee for driving a vehicle in London between 7am and 6pm,\n    <br\/>Monday to Friday.<\/blockquote>\n\n<h2>Why does it exist?<\/h2>\n\n<p>London is a difficult city to drive through at the best of times, but during the working week it can be close to impossible. <\/p>\n\n<p>The Congestion Charge was introduced to limit the number of vehicles entering Central London, by making car sharing or public transport the more affordable option.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Who has to pay it?<\/h2>\n\n<p>Anyone travelling into Central London between 7am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, except:<\/p>\n<ul>\n    <li>Blue Badge holders <\/li>\n    <li>Accredited breakdown vehicles<\/li>\n    <li>Vehicles with 9 or more seats <\/li>\n    <li>Ultra low emission vehicles <\/li>\n    <li>Electric vehicles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>There is also a 90% residents\u2019 discount for people living in the Congestion Charge zone. You can find out more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tfl.gov.uk\/modes\/driving\/congestion-charge\/discounts-and-exemptions?intcmp=2133\" title=\"Congestion Charge discounts and exemptions\" target=\"_blank\">Congestion Charge discounts and exemptions<\/a> on the Transport for London website.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Where does it apply?<\/h2>\n\n<p>The Congestion Charge covers Central London and includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>St. James's<\/li>\n<li>Waterloo<\/li>\n<li>Borough<\/li>\n<li>City of London<\/li>\n<li>Clerkenwell<\/li>\n<li>Covent Garden<\/li>\n<li>Fitzrovia<\/li>\n<li>Charing Cross<\/li>\n<li>London Bridge<\/li>\n<li>Holborn<\/li>\n<li>Finsbury<\/li>\n<li>Bloomsbury<\/li>\n<li>Soho<\/li>\n<li>Mayfair<\/li>\n<li>Westminster<\/li>\n<li>Parts of Marylebone, Lambeth and Southwark<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n&nbsp;\n<p>Take a look at Transport for London\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tfl.gov.uk\/cdn\/static\/cms\/documents\/congestion-charge-zone-map.gif\" title=\"Congestion Charge Zone map\" target=\"_blank\">Congestion Charge map<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/congestioncharging.tfl.gov.uk\/b\/pb\/provideDetails.faces?referrer=cc&intcmp=8297\" title=\"Check the Congestion Charge Zone\" target=\"_blank\">check if the place you need to drive to sits within the Congestion Charge zone<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<h2>How do I know when I\u2019m entering the Congestion Charge zone?<\/h2>\n<p>You will see a big \u2018C\u2019 in a red circle, painted on the road or on a white sign.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What if I enter the Congestion Charge zone by mistake?<\/h2>\n<p>Number plates are monitored in the charge zone so if you enter by mistake, you could very well be photographed and fined. However, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/congestioncharging.tfl.gov.uk\/b\/pb\/provideVRM.faces\" title=\"Pay the Congestion Charge\" target=\"_blank\">pay the Congestion Charge the next day<\/a> at a slightly higher price to avoid the fine.<\/p>\n\n<h2>How do I pay the charge?<\/h2>\n\n<p>You can <a href=\"https:\/\/congestioncharging.tfl.gov.uk\/b\/pb\/provideVRM.faces\" title=\"Pay the Congestion Charge online\" target=\"_blank\">pay the Congestion Charge online<\/a>, by text or by call. You can also choose to pay automatically every day, leave it until the next day or even pay months in advance.<\/p>\n\n<p>Go to the full list of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tfl.gov.uk\/modes\/driving\/congestion-charge\/paying-the-congestion-charge?intcmp=2115#autopay\" title=\"Paying the Congestion Charge\" target=\"_blank\">Congestion Charge payment options<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What if I don\u2019t pay?<\/h2>\n\n<p>If you forget to pay the Congestion Charge you have until midnight the next day to pay.<\/p>\n\n<p>But if you don\u2019t pay, you will get a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) with a \u00a3130 fine. This is reduced to \u00a365 if you pay within 14 days so get it over with quickly!<\/p>\n\n<p>If you ignore the fine, the amount you owe will just increase and you could end up with debt collectors on your doorstep.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"container-border text-center\"><h4><a href=\"https:\/\/congestioncharging.tfl.gov.uk\/b\/pb\/provideVRM.faces\" title=\"Pay the Congestion Charge online\" target=\"\">Pay the Congestion Charge online<\/strong><\/a><\/h4><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Congestion Charge: &nbsp; An \u00a311.50 fee for driving a vehicle in London between 7am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Why does it exist? London is a difficult city to drive through at the best of times, but during the working week it can be close to impossible. The Congestion Charge was introduced to limit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rules-and-regulations","rules-and-regulations"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is the Congestion Charge? - Young Driver&#039;s Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Congestion Charge: &nbsp; An \u00a311.50 fee for driving a vehicle in London between 7am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Why does it exist? London is a difficult city to drive through at the best of times, but during the working week it can be close to impossible. The Congestion Charge was introduced to limit [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Young Driver&#039;s Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-09-15T15:06:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/congestion-charge.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ingenie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/\",\"name\":\"Young Driver&#039;s Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/congestion-charge.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/congestion-charge.png\",\"width\":480,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge\",\"name\":\"What is the Congestion Charge? - Young Driver&#039;s Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-09-15T15:06:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-09-15T15:06:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/#\/schema\/person\/ab5d91c309c20c08d5214673879943e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is the Congestion Charge?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/#\/schema\/person\/ab5d91c309c20c08d5214673879943e8\",\"name\":\"ingenie\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/ingenie-icon-ingenie-blue-120x100.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/ingenie-icon-ingenie-blue-120x100.jpg\",\"caption\":\"ingenie\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/author\/ingenie\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"What is the Congestion Charge? - Young Driver&#039;s Guide","og_description":"The Congestion Charge: &nbsp; An \u00a311.50 fee for driving a vehicle in London between 7am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Why does it exist? London is a difficult city to drive through at the best of times, but during the working week it can be close to impossible. The Congestion Charge was introduced to limit [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge","og_site_name":"Young Driver&#039;s Guide","article_published_time":"2014-09-15T15:06:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/congestion-charge.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ingenie","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/","name":"Young Driver&#039;s Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/congestion-charge.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/congestion-charge.png","width":480,"height":400},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge","name":"What is the Congestion Charge? - Young Driver&#039;s Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2014-09-15T15:06:02+00:00","dateModified":"2014-09-15T15:06:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/#\/schema\/person\/ab5d91c309c20c08d5214673879943e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/what-is-the-congestion-charge#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is the Congestion Charge?"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/#\/schema\/person\/ab5d91c309c20c08d5214673879943e8","name":"ingenie","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/ingenie-icon-ingenie-blue-120x100.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/ingenie-icon-ingenie-blue-120x100.jpg","caption":"ingenie"},"url":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/author\/ingenie"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ingenie.com\/young-drivers-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}