Congestion Charge expansion

London Mayor Ken Livingstone has unveiled an emissions-based expansion to the controversial Congestion Charge scheme.

From October 27th vehicles which produce over 226 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g/k) will have to pay up to £25 to enter the centre of the capital.

Mr Livingstone calculates around 80 per cent of vehicles will be unaffected by the change, with only those cars with engines over 2.5 litre in capacity are likely charged.

In all, some 33,000 vehicles are expected to pay the charge.

To sweeten the deal, the least polluting vehicles - cars producing less than 120g/k - will be exempt from all congestion charges.

The initial scheme was introduced in 2003, charging motorists £5 to enter a zone around central London, between 7:00 to 18:00 Monday-Friday excluding bank holidays.

In 2007, the scheme was expanded to include West London, with the fee increasing to £8 per journey.

However, this latest expansion is not designed to tackle the volume of traffic, but the emissions it produces.

It is hoped the plan will tie-in with a scheme announced yesterday to invest £500 in cycle transport for the city, allowing residents to rent bicycles and use them on a network of dedicated pathways.

The full pricing structure can be seen here.