page_title: London congestion charge
section_title: Introduction of the Western Extension
hierarchical_section_title: London congestion charge / History / Introduction of the Western Extension
caption_attribution_description: English: Park Lane - Running along the eastern side of Hyde Park, Park lane is one of central London's busiest thoroughfares. This view shows the northbound carriageway; the road is divided by a broad central reservation.
context_page_description: The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone in Central London between 7:00 am to 10:00 pm seven days a week. The charge was first introduced on 17 February 2003. As of 2017, the London charge zone is still one of the largest congestion charge zones in the world, despite the removal of the Western Extension which operated between February 2007 and January 2011. The charge helps to not only reduce high traffic flow in the city streets, but also reduces air and noise pollution in the central London area and raises investment funds for London's transport system.
  The standard charge is £15, every day from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm, for each non-exempt vehicle driven within the zone, with a penalty of between £65 and £195 levied for non-payment. The Congestion Charge does not operate on Christmas Day. In July 2013 the Ultra Low Emission Discount introduced more stringent emission standards that limit the free access to the congestion charge zone to all-electric cars, some plug-in hybrids, and any vehicle that emits 75 g/km or less of CO₂ and meets the Euro 5 standards for air quality.
context_section_description: The boundary of the zone, as of 19 February 2007, started at the northern end of Vauxhall Bridge and (travelling in a clockwise direction) heads along the northern bank of the River Thames as Grosvenor Road, the Chelsea Embankment and Cheyne Walk. From there, it heads north, along the eastern edges of the Kensington and Earl's Court one-way systems, part of the A3220, with the roads in between charged, before continuing to the A40 Westway as the Holland Road and the West Cross Route. The boundary then includes parts of North Kensington, but the actual boundary is defined by the West London Line railway track, which runs between Latimer Road (inside the zone) and Wood Lane (outside the zone), until Scrubs Lane, before turning east, following the Great Western Main Line out of Paddington towards Ladbroke Grove. Here, the boundary followed the Grand Union Canal and rejoined the existing zone at Edgware Road after skirting Paddington, by way of the Bishop's Bridge Road, Eastbourne Terrace, Praed Street and Sussex Gardens.
  The Western Extension was officially removed from the charging zone beginning 4 January 2011, with charging on the Western extension effectively ended on 24 December 2010 and enacted during the week of Christmas to New Year holiday period.
  TfL provided some free through routes, where drivers do not have to pay the charge. The main route was defined by the western boundary of the original zone Vauxhall Bridge Road, Grosvenor Place, Park Lane and Edgware Road, with some additions around Victoria. To the north, the through route is the Marylebone Road, Euston Road and Pentonville Road.  The Westway flyover at the eastern end is the other exempt route even though it cuts across the north-west corner of the zone.
  In May 2007, a survey of 150 local businesses stated they had seen an average drop in business of 25% following the introduction of the charge, which was disputed by TfL which stated that there had been "no overall effect" on business and that it had outperformed the rest of the UK in the central zone during 2006.
  In 2007 a green motoring website alleged to TfL that owners of luxury cars were registering their vehicles as minicabs to qualify for exemption from the charge. Registering a vehicle as a minicab costs £82 plus £27 per year licence fee, much less than the congestion charge. TfL responded that it carried out regular checks to confirm that cars were being used for the purposes they were registered for, and that they had not discovered any such cases.
  Transport for London consulted on a charge for the Blackwall Tunnel in east London, but these proposals were suspended in November 2007 following significant opposition from the public. Former Mayor Ken Livingstone has stated that he had "absolutely no plans to set up a congestion charging zone to charge vehicles that use the Blackwall Tunnel or the Blackwall Tunnel Approach Road. But if Greenwich wishes to do so on any of its roads then I will support them".
caption: Park Lane was one of the new free through routes during the existence of the Western Extension.
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