City of London introduces emissions-based parking charges

The City of London Corporation has announced the introduction of new emissions based parking charges for on-street parking in the Square Mile starting Monday, August 20, 2018.

The new parking charges will use RingGo’s Emissions Based Parking product, which will target higher polluting vehicles with higher charges.

Drivers of low emission vehicles, such as electric and hybrid, will pay less

The initiative is meant to incentivise motorists to make more environmentally friendly choices and improve air quality across the Square Mile, by reducing nitrogen oxides and harmful particulates.

RingGo’s Emissions Based Parking product will automatically assess the type of vehicle being parked and charge tariffs based on the level of pollution emitted by the vehicle. Although the product is being used elsewhere in London, the City Corporation is the first to offer a range of charges dependent on the vehicle’s fuel type.

City of London emissions-based parking charges:

The following tariff bands will operate on weekdays from 8am to 7pm.

The RingGo app is a cashless parking solution. Drivers choosing to use cash at a machine, rather than paying with RingGo, will be penalised with the highest rate regardless of vehicle type.

Chris Hayward, planning and transportation committee chairman at the City of London Corporation, said: “We have seen other areas of London penalise worst offenders such as diesel cars. We are taking this one step further by not only applying punitive measures for these worst offenders but by supporting and encouraging motorists to consider other modes of transport and switch to cleaner vehicles in the future.

“98% of all parking in the City is paid for by mobile phone so RingGo’s Emissions Based Parking is a great way of reminding motorists of the impact of their journey each and every time they travel.

 “The Square Mile is one of London’s busiest areas, therefore, it is only right that the City of London Corporation continues to prioritise providing a safe and healthy environment for its workers, visitors and residents.”

Dominic Richardson, a partner at Gowling WLG, said:“This is an interesting addition to London’s existing efforts to bring down and control high levels of carbon emissions. Some may question whether it goes far enough in terms of geographical spread, but it is often best to grow from a strong baseline – so all eyes will be on the implementation of this, in order to chart its development and potentially introduce into other areas of the capital as well as the UK.” 

The introduction of environmentally friendly tariffs for on-street parking charges is one of the many measures being introduced by the City Corporation to improve air quality in the Square Mile.

City residents in the Barbican who use an electric vehicle now have access to 30 permanent charging points.

The Lower Emission Neighbourhood project works with businesses through its CityAir Programme whilst leading a London-wide crackdown on drivers who leave their engines idling.

The City Corporation’s CityAir app provides over 27,000 Londoners with low pollution travel routes across the capital, with advice and alerts when air pollution is high.

This year, the City Corporation launched a clean air cargo bike delivery scheme, which helps the Square Mile’s businesses tackle toxic air pollution by shifting deliveries from diesel and petrol vans to cargo bicycles.

In 2016 it agreed a deal with Addison Lee - London’s biggest private hire taxi firm - to automatically switch hybrid taxis to electric mode in key areas of the Square Mile. The City Corporation has banned the purchase of diesel vehicles from its own fleet of 300 vehicles, where there is a clean market alternative.

It has also introduced a City-wide 20mph zone, and its new procurement rules have brought in tight restrictions on harmful emissions from bulldozers and generators.