London Congestion Charge
The London Congestion Charge is a fee of £15.00 a day (as of 22 June 2020) on most motor vehicles entering the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) (3045928
3045928). It is almost synonymous with the London Ring Road (3124618 3124618). The toll operates from 7am to 10pm on every day except for Christmas Day. The toll can be partially or fully suspended during major incidents.
Relation tags
- type=toll
- toll:motor_vehicle=yes - global toll value for all motor vehicles
- toll:motorcycle=no - motorcycles exempt
- toll:psv=no - buses and taxis exempt
- fee=Mo-Su 07:00-22:00 - operation hours using same syntax as opening_hours=*
- fee:amount=£15.00 per day - daily fee
- name=London Congestion Charge
- area=yes
- wikidata=Q371759
- note=Not charged on Christmas Day (25th December)
The full list of automatic exemptions can be found at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/17098.aspx (Transport for London).
Ring Road
The London Ring Road (3124618 3124618) is a toll-free circular primary route. It is not the boundary of the London Congestion Charge because of the service roads into private premises (such as a petrol station) and slip roads connecting to roads outside the zone (such as the anti-clockwise connection to the northbound A41), but it is the smallest circular trip possible without entering the zone.
Notice to routing software developers
The London Congestion Charge is on the live map:
- If your routing software supports toll warnings, driving into the area within 3045928 3045928 or any similar area tagged with type=toll must trigger a toll warning.
- If your routing software supports avoiding tolls, routes that avoid tolls must avoid the driving into the area within 3045928 3045928 or any similar area tagged with type=toll.
- If your routing software supports multiple modes as well, the toll warnings apply only to all motor vehicles except motorcycles, taxi or bus.
Similar schemes that need a system like this
- Milan Area C (Italy): congestion_charge=milan
- Electronic Road Pricing (Singapore): congestion_charge=singapore
- Stockholm congestion tax (Sweden): congestion_charge=stockholm
- Durham City Congestion Charge (United Kingdom): congestion_charge=durham
OSM History
In 2013, Amaroussi identified the need to map the then ten-year old charging zone because some road navigation systems were using OpenStreetMap - the absence of such indicators meant that some drivers were accidentally driving into the zone without being aware of the cost. It was extraordinary that in nearly ten years of OpenStreetMap, the London Congestion Charge or Singapore's ERP had not been properly mapped.