Westminster launches emissions-based parking charges to tackle poor air quality

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Westminster City Council is introducing emissions-based charging for residents and visitors who drive into the city. New schemes will be introduced for residents with parking permits and people who pay-to-park in Westminster. 

The new emissions-based charging schemes will see vehicles being charged based on their levels of CO2 emissions. Vehicles that produce lower levels of CO2 will be charged less in comparison to those which produce more. 

The City of Westminster has some of the highest carbon emissions and worst air quality of any national local authority. The changes are designed to help Westminster reach its goal of a Net Zero City by 2040 and tackle poor air quality that contributes to thousands of premature deaths in London each year.

The council has already installed more than 2,500 electric vehicle charging stations across the city, which is more than any other local authority in the UK. The aim is to encourage residents and people who drive into the city to switch to low polluting vehicles and improve air quality.  

Westminster residents with an EV will pay the equivalent of £1.50 a week to park outside their home, and visitors with EVs who pay to park in Westminster will still be paying less than those driving petrol or diesel cars.

Westminster joins several other London boroughs in introducing an emissions-based scheme, as the popularity of Electric Vehicles continues to grow. 

In addition, the council is launching a consultation to hear the views of people who use the new charging schemes. From Thursday 25 January, people will be able to share the opinions and ask questions about the scheme for a three-week period. 

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality, said:

“Westminster City Council has invested heavily in electric vehicle infrastructure to encourage people to switch to EVs and low polluting vehicles.

“Westminster has more than 2,500 electric vehicle chargers across the city which is more than any other local authority in the UK. And 50 per cent of our waste collection fleet is now made up of zero-emission electric vehicles. 

 “Until now, pay to park charges for EVs in Westminster have been extremely low, and to keep up with the increasing demand for EVs the council is moving to an emissions-based charging system. The new scheme will support the growth of electric vehicles in the city while keeping charges fair, proportionate, and as low as possible.”

"To encourage more people to switch to an EV, the cost of parking an EV in Westminster will remain much lower than driving or a petrol or diesel car."

 

 For more information visit our Changes to how we charge for Parking webpage. 

Notes to Editors:

• The aim of the emissions-based charging schemes is to encourage the use of low-polluting vehicles and to discourage the use of those which are more polluting. 
• Electric vehicles (EVs) and other cleaner, less polluting vehicles are becoming more popular, commonplace and widespread: a trend that is expected to continue and accelerate. This will render the council’s current pay-to-park and resident permit schemes’ charging structures unsustainable. 
• For pay-to-park, charges for EV and plug-in hybrid vehicles are currently extremely low (from 8p an hour in Paddington to just 24p an hour in the West End) as to be virtually nominal. Until 2017, these vehicle types were granted free parking at pay-to-park bays in Westminster. For resident permits, ‘eco’ permits are currently free of charge. As the EV charges are increasing from an extremely low base, it is inevitable that any change to fit the aims of the new scheme would result in a large percentage increase.
• Under the new scheme, the cheapest charges in each of Westminster’s parking zones will be lower than Brent, Camden, City of London, Hammersmith
• The Council also operates a tradesperson’s permit scheme whereby a tradesperson can obtain a zone-specific permit to park in that zone all day in any pay-to-park bay, or in any resident bay between the hours of 08:00 and 17:30. The proposed new price starts at £20.90 per day which works out at less than £3 per hour.