Driving in Central London is very expensive as alongside the usual costs of running a car, you must also pay the Congestion charge. It costs £11.50 per day if you drive your car within the charging zone between 7am and 6pm Monday to Friday. There is no charge outside those times. The charge was brought in to try and reduce the amount of traffic on the roads which create CO2 emissions. There are exemptions:
- Two-wheeled motorbikes (and sidecars) and mopeds
- Emergency service vehicles, such as ambulances and fire engines, which have a taxation class of 'ambulance' or 'fire engine' on the date of travel
- NHS vehicles that are exempt from road tax
- Vehicles used by disabled people that are exempt from road tax and have a 'disabled' taxation class
- Vehicles for more than one disabled person (for example Dial-a-Ride) that are exempt from road tax and have a 'disabled' taxation class
- Licensed taxis
- ` (Transport for London)
The other group of vehicles exempt from the charge are certain types of electric vehicles. The Government offers lots of financial incentives such as no road tax
to try and encourage people to swap their petrol/diesel vehicles for an electric one. The biggest disadvantage as far as I can see is that they can only cover a fairly short distance before needing to be recharged. I spotted this recharging point in West London but I haven't noticed that many recharging points. Maybe I need to look more carefully. Does anyone out there own an electric vehicle?
I never drive into Central London as public transport is good enough for all my needs.
I have a Toyota Hybrid car and that's great, it switches automatically from electricity to petrol when you drive over 50 km/h ! The battery charges itself each time you break. As I mostly drive in the city I only use electricity which costs me nothing. I use 4.5 l/100 km so with one full tank I can drive more than 650 km ! It makes no noise at all when in electricity mode and I have to horn if there are people walking on the street. That makes them angry and I have to explain, lol !
ReplyDeleteLong time since I drove round London, tend to take the train & tube. The distance an electric car will go is not good enough a the moment and they will not tow so no good for me
ReplyDeleteha...interesting insight for this guy over the pond.
ReplyDeleteWe see them in Amsterdam very often now and there are increasing more recharging points popping up in the streets.
ReplyDeleteI saw my first recharging points here in Bellingham the other day. The world is changing, all right. Love that cute car! :-)
ReplyDeleteI WISH I had an electric car! Although gas prices have fallen so much here, I guess I can't complain at the moment. This one is so cute with its leopard spots.
ReplyDeleteMy brother (who was to accompany us on our trip to England last June) has a very expensive Tesla that they love!. They know where the charging places are when the travel from AZ to CA to visit their daughters.
ReplyDeleteLove the leopard print on this tiny car! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know of any charging points here, but I expect there are a few.
ReplyDeleteNo ... I don't own an electric car but what a great idea for low mileage travellers. When in Paris I always smile at their little voitures lined up along the street - plugged in !!
ReplyDeleteYour last sentence would be me if I lived there. Or anywhere that had decent public transportation. We didn't get in a cab or auto of any kind during the season we spent there and we went everywhere! We also aren't good candidates for electric car because there aren't enough chargers ... And I would be afraid to drive in such a small car here in Florida.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very snazzy little car though.
Wont it be good when everyone has an electric car. The world will be able to breathe again. Hopefully coal will stop being burnt to make electricity too.
ReplyDeleteInteresting... I had no idea about the cost of transportation in downtown London. BUT--I've never been there --and if I ever go there (which would be great), I would definitely use public transportation... Wonder if this will ever happen to some of our big cities in our country??? I do know that many New York City people take the subway and other ways of public transportation. BUT--there are still many cars driving in and our of that city, with lots and lots of congestion. I would hate to drive in that city...
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
This seems like a very efficient way of regulating traffic in such a high demand area. I've not seen an electric car in real life but have seen some hybrids. With our large distances between places in Australia I guess pure electric would have restricted usefulness.
ReplyDeleteNow that is a cool design. Fantastic reflection. Have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteJust catching up with a few of your wonderful posts. I SO appreciate those using electric vehicles. Since Bill's illness, we have no vehicle except for our bicycles. We use them a lot and take public transit for our other needs. Many taxis in Vancouver now use hybrids and for the most part, seem to be using the electric more than the gas function. Thought we only very, very rarely take taxis, I have noticed and appreciate that they are silent. To answer your question, I have only noticed a few charging stations, but my impression is that the batteries are staying charged for longer and longer and many are happy with them. The little car in your photo likes like a Car2Go system that Vancouver uses, but sadly, they are not electric as yet, and they do not allow pets. Much more I wanted to respond to, including the Churchill post, but must go now. Many thanks!
ReplyDeleteI would not mind having that little car :)
ReplyDelete