The Congestion Charge for London is a bit of extra trouble, but there are some very good reasons why you should pay it. Anyone who drives into the Congestion Charge Zone (which covers virtually all of central London) during business hours on weekdays must pay the £8 fee, preferably in advance of your trip in to London.

If you chose to pay the fee the day after your trip, the price will climb to £10. Failure to pay this fee leads to fines ranging from £60 to £180, so as you can see, it is advisable to comply with this regulation.

The Congestion Charge came about in 2003 when it was clear something drastic needed to be done about the state of traffic in the city; gridlock and overcrowding was out of control. The idea behind the charge is that it would give people more incentive to take The Tube, the bus, or other public means of transportation and lighten the loads of private vehicles making their way into London each day.

There is some controversy about the overall success of this program; although Transport for London claims that the Congestion Charge has been responsible for a 20% reduction in traffic in the controlled areas, a similar decrease in CO2 and other emissions, and even a small reduction in road accidents.

The fees collected by this program go directly into funding the public transportation system, and this additional funding has helped London to improve its bus and subway systems a great deal. Unfortunately, a fair percentage of the fees collected must go to enforcement and collection of unpaid fines.

There are cameras throughout the controlled area taking photographs of license plates, and this has tempted some motorists to try using false or stolen plates to avoid the fines. However, stiff penalties and no-nonsense enforcement has led to an increase in fines paid in recent years.

You can go online to pay the fee for your trip to London, or you can text a payment, pay by phone, or pay at some London shops.

Photo courtesy: markhillary

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