With Transport for London’s public consultation on proposed changes to the congestion charge due to close on 11th August, research from Venson Automotive Solutions reveals a shift in public sentiment, with 48% of motorists saying electric vehicles (EVs) should no longer be exempt.
As cities across the UK aim for carbon neutrality by 2030, the data suggests a growing openness to congestion charge reform among younger drivers.
Venson found that 41% of motorists would be more likely to buy an EV if a clean vehicle tax reduced their exposure to congestion charges.
This reflects increasing support for cleaner transport and a growing business case for fleet electrification.
Simon Staton, client management director at Venson Automotive Solutions, said: “As more cities across the UK introduce congestion charging zones fleets are facing additional financial pressure.
“To encourage EV adoption fee structures will need to be updated to include them. While no-one ever welcomes price increases, the 100% discount for EVs was never intended to be permanent.
“It’s encouraging that TfL is continuing to give discounts to EVs registered with AutoPay and even more promising to see from our research so many drivers encouraged to adopt cleaner vehicles to help reduce their own city charges.
“Behavioural shifts like these are essential if we want to progress to more efficient and sustainable mobility in our cities.”
The survey also highlighted generational differences in attitudes. Over a third (35%) of EV drivers aged 18–34 said they would be happy to pay a congestion charge, while just 6% of drivers aged 55+ agreed.
Younger motorists were also more open to the proposed 20% hike in the daily fee, with only 32% opposed compared to 79% of older drivers.
TfL’s proposals include discounted congestion charge rates for EVs registered for Auto Pay. From 2nd January 2026, electric vans and HGVs would receive a 50% discount, while electric cars would get 25%.
These discounts would reduce further from 4th March 2030 to 25% for commercial EVs and 12.5% for electric cars.
Almost a third of motorists (30%) said they would consider using public transport more frequently as congestion charges become more widespread, suggesting that policy changes could lead to broader behavioural shifts in urban mobility.
