I am not looking forward to the extra £200 a year it is going to cost me to have a car when the congestion charge zone is extended westwards over the objections of almost everyone in Kensington and Chelsea. But I will have to bite the bullet.
For reasons too complicated to go into, my wife is showing interest in exempt vehicles. The TfL website is hopelessly and gratuitously complicated and obscure. There is nothing resembling a simple list of exempt or partially exempt vehicles. One would expect some small modern diesels to be on such a list, but they probably wouldn't be. Biofuel or dual-fuel/hybrid seem to be the only categories.
Does anyone have any idea what is exempt or partially exempt, and whether any such vehicles are obtainable for reasonable money? What about those Vauxhall factory LPG conversions? I've read quite a bit of carping about them on this site.
My instinct is that a Mk 1 Prius (for example) would be expensive and troublesome. Can anyone contradict this authoritatively?
I don't need or want to be lectured on the use of vile articulated buses. The only good thing about this extension is that I will be able to return to my bad old ways and add to the congestion in the West End whenever I feel like it. In every other respect the thing is a bummer. But I would appreciate any useful input on everything except the GWhiz.
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m'Lud
IIRC the Citreon C1/Peugot/Toyota may also qualify.
There is also a small van fitted with LPG that is exempt, sorry cannot remember the make.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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Just checked Transport for London website and it appears the Citreon C1 is not exempt as I posted earlier.
For a list of all current exemptions see
www.cclondon.com/exemptions.shtml
I think the van was called a Carry, ? by Suzuki.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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>>Does anyone have any idea what is exempt or partially exempt
Blue Badge holders can apply for exemption, a yearly (I believe) admin fee applies.
Disabled VED class (£0 tax) is automatically exempt. (Not that I'm saying you should disable yourself but this is not 'shown' on the CCL web site unless you go looking in the questions bit)
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The confusion about vehicles such as the C1/Aygo arises from Ken's proposal to vary the charge so as to penalise 4x4s (and ordinary family cars as well, but he's not pushed that into the headlines). Unfortunately a congestion charge and an emmissions charge are aims sufficiently differnt that aiding one can defeat the other. The rich can buy an exempt car and leave the 4x4 parked up for trips to the country; exempt cars cause jams just as effectively as an X5 or a Cayenne.
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I have been in correspondence with TFL as it affects me too.
Basically Ken wants to proceed (i.e. it is 99% certain to happen) with a discount for any Euro IV car that is in VED band A & B (120g CO2/km or less). He wants to do this in 2008 or earlier if possible. It will not be automatic and owners will have to register. At a later stage (2009/10 or possibly earlier) he will then bring in the £25 charge for the new band G 'polluters' and residents with such vehicles will get less of a discount (not specified).
Also, come 2008 (or earlier) cars on the Powershift alternative fuel list will no longer be eligible for discount. This basically means LPG conversions. Existing Powershift eligible cars will lose their discount in 2010 or when the vehicle is sold. I think this is to stop V8 4x4s getting an LPG conversion that they never use.
Cars that are Euro IV compliant and emit less than 120g CO2 include C1/107/Aygo petrol or diesel, lower power Smarts, some Clio, 207, Fiesta, Grande Punto, C2, C3, Panda, Yaris diesels, as well as a Megane diesel and the C4 HDI 110 with the electronic gearbox. Prius and Civic IMAs still qualify but there are no Vauxhalls or VWs that qualify at the moment.
I think the new rules make much more sense as it means you will be able to drive a normal car in the zone for free.
You can see I have researched this pretty comprehensively! Hope it helps.
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And I see that the NEW new Mini One D will also qualify for exemption - 118g from its 1.6litre turbo diesel.
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Thanks for your useful replies. Looks as if there's nothing rational to be done for more than a year though. By that time the chances are that there will be new monkeying around with the regulations to trip people up some more.
The mayor has already indicated that the westward extension of the congestion charge zone is going to lead to more congestion. Terrific. Fabulous. Can't wait.
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totally unfair on folk driving automatics for medical reasons
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The mayor has already indicated that the westward extension of the congestion charge zone is going to lead to more congestion. Terrific. Fabulous. Can't wait.
But then last week in an interview with Nick Ferrari on LBC he also hinted that the rise in congestion would offer a chance to rise CC charge up to £25 for band C+ vehicles even inside the zone so all in all it looks like he's being clever again and cornered the situation to his liking...
In the same interview he also confirmed to one of the listeners that his office has fully established branches all over the world, which cost up to £400,000 a year in upkeep each. Some of them are in very questionable places, like Venezuela and they apparently serve as outpost for business. The whole things sounded even more corrupt than the whole strange Capita relationship they have around CC scheme where Mayor pays Capita fines for not meeting CC targets from budget and then pays Capita because their profits don't reach contractual minimums ....
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[Nissan 2.2 dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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