Sadiq Khan has been accused of continuing to fight a “war on the motorist”, as he faced criticism over plans to remove the congestion charge exemption for electric vehicles. The London mayor’s former opponent, Tory assembly member Susan Hall, raised the issue at City Hall on Thursday, as she cited arguments from environmentalists who called the move “puzzling”.
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00:00I think Zak Plansky fell off his chair when he heard Susan Hall quoting
00:04going green. I hope he's impressed, but can you just answer? Can we just get this straight?
00:10London is leading the way when it comes to electric vehicles. New figures shows
00:14that we now have over 20,000 public electric vehicle charging points across
00:18London, accounting for around one-third of all charging points in the UK. Over
00:231,200 of these are rapid charges and over 58% of taxis in London allow
00:27electric. From its introduction more than 20 years ago, the objective of the
00:31congestion charge has always been to reduce congestion in London. We know that
00:35a less congested city leads to better journey times and improved air quality.
00:38The congestion charge reduced traffic entering the zone by 18% during weekday
00:43charging hours and boosted bus travel in central London by 33%. Congestion charge
00:49discounts for cleaner vehicles have always been subject to tightening
00:52standards. In 2010, Boris Johnson ended the alternative fuel discount because
00:57developments in low-emission vehicle market meant it was no longer effective,
01:01introducing a greener vehicle discount, which itself was later reviewed and
01:05amended. When the current cleaner vehicle discount was announced in 2018, it was
01:10made clear that it would expire in December 2025, giving a seven and a half
01:14year notice period, by which point it was expected that electric vehicles would
01:18have grown in number to such an extent that continuing to exempt them would
01:22undermine the objectives of the congestion charge. The proposal was
01:26subject to public consultation, with further phases including the expiry of
01:29the discount clearly signposted to support individuals and businesses to
01:34plan ahead. My understanding is that no one from the Conservative group objected
01:37to the tapering of the cleaner vehicle discount. The cleaner vehicle discount was
01:41a phased scheme to manage traffic and congestion in London and to regulate the
01:45number of vehicles eligible for the discount so as to protect the overall
01:49objective of the congestion charge scheme to reduce congestion. When it was
01:53introduced, there were just over 20,000 vehicles registered at the cleaner
01:57vehicle discount. At the end of June 2024, that figure was more than 112,000
02:03vehicles. With another 18 months until the discount expires, this number will
02:07continue to grow. Exemptions for emergency service vehicles, disabled
02:12people and black cabs that are licensed with London Taxi and Private Hire will
02:16remain in place. There are still 18 months until the cleaner vehicle discount
02:19ends, so it's difficult to forecast precisely how this will impact the
02:23revenue TfL will receive from the congestion charge. Any and all net income is
02:27reinvested into maintaining and improving the transport network.
02:32Thank you for that exceptionally long answer to a very short and simple question, and the
02:37question for anybody that doesn't know is how much additional money does TfL
02:41expect to raise in 2026 due to you scrapping this? So what's the ballpark
02:47figure that TfL are looking at? We simply don't know. There's still 18 months to go, so we're
02:52not clear the trajectory of cleaner vehicles in relation to those that will
02:58be caught by this, so we can't make an assessment. What I can say is it's not in
03:03the business plan. Had there been an assessment, it would have been in the business plan. So for
03:06example, the Member will be aware that when it comes to ULEZ, that's in the business plan, but this isn't.
03:13Well I'm astounded by that, but we'll wait and see how much money that you intend to make off that, because
03:19obviously your war on the motorists, they will continue to pay. Oliver Lord from the
03:25campaign group Clean Cities called the scrapping of the exemption puzzling, and
03:30added, and I'm quoting, by offering incentives to businesses for electric
03:34vehicles. We not only promote greener transport, but we also draw a line
03:39against the most polluting freight vehicles. Is he wrong? Actually, as somebody who's worked extensively with
03:47Oliver Lord, and whose views have been opposed by the Conservative group for decades, the point I'd make to Oliver Lord is, the purpose of the congestion
03:57charge is to reduce congestion. If you think of the logic of giving exemptions
04:02to electric vehicles, it would mean at some stage in the future, every single vehicle, if it was to be electric, would not pay a charge, which doesn't reduce congestion.
04:10The idea is to reduce congestion, and to encourage people to use other forms of
04:14transport, but the reason why this scheme was introduced was to nudge people's
04:18behaviour with an incentive, if they have to drive a car, for it to be electric.
04:22Well I've always thought that cleaner air was your main mantra, but let's try Alex
04:27Pearce. He's from the electric car support company Going Green, and he said, and I'll quote him,
04:33environmentally and economically, this makes no sense. So is he wrong? I think
04:40Zak Plansky fell off his chair when he heard Susan Hall quoting Going Green.
04:45I hope he's impressed, but can you just answer? Can we get this straight? No, can you just answer, you're on my time, Sadiq Khan.
04:53Every member has quoted Olly Lord and Going Green in the space of three minutes.
04:58I'll be quite clear. The purpose of the congestion charge is to reduce congestion.
05:05Even Boris Johnson didn't think that it was right to give an indefinite exemption
05:10to vehicles, and what I'm doing is making it quite clear. We've telegraphed almost
05:16eight years in advance of the exemption coming to an end. There'll be further
05:21exemptions for the groups that I've set out in my answer, those who are disabled,
05:24those that are black taxis, those emergency service vehicles, and so forth.
05:31But this tapering, that's what tapering does, will come to an end at the end of 2025.
05:37I think it just shows that it's not about clean air, it's about making money,
05:42and I'm surprised that you don't know how much money. And actually, if you
05:46wanted to stop congestion, you'd look at some of the schemes that have been put
05:50into London that do nothing but cause congestion, like the massive Great Big
05:55Bike lying on Park Lane, and there are very many other areas that you could
05:59move or change in order to stop congestion. But of course, as usual, it's a
06:05way of you taxing drivers in London. Thank you, Chairman.
06:10Chair, was that a question for you to respond to?
06:12No, no, it's a statement.
06:14I think it was a finishing flourish, actually.