Congestion Charge for London PHV drivers

Private hire vehicles are not automatically exempt from the Congestion Charge. If a booking takes you into the zone during charging hours, the charge applies unless your vehicle qualifies for an exemption. This guide explains the rule, the one exemption the handbook names, and the questions worth settling before you take a city-centre job.

What the handbook says

Section 6 of the handbook is short on this point. A PHV that enters the Congestion Charge zone has to pay the daily charge unless an exemption applies. The handbook sends you to TfL's website for the times, the days and the area covered.

It then names one exemption. If your vehicle is designated as wheelchair accessible, you do not pay when you enter the zone to carry out a booking from a London licensed PHV operator. A footnote explains that designated vehicles are the ones TfL lists under section 167 of the Equality Act. You can check whether a vehicle has been designated on TfL's website.

What TfL's current pages add

We read TfL's Congestion Charge pages on 2 October 2026. They add details the handbook does not give.

• Charging hours. The scheme runs 07:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday, and 12:00 to 18:00 at weekends and on bank holidays. TfL says there is no charge from Christmas Day to the New Year's Day bank holiday, inclusive. Hours can change, so look at the page before you plan a week.
• No general PHV exemption. TfL's discounts page says PHV drivers and operators need to pay the charges if they travel in the zone, or through the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels, during charging hours.
• Wheelchair accessible PHVs. They are exempt from the Congestion Charge when carrying out a private hire booking, and from the tunnels charge when actively engaged in a booking.
• Zero-emission capable PHVs. TfL says they are not charged for the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels when carrying out a booking, but they still pay the Congestion Charge unless another discount applies.
• Paying. TfL says the easiest way to pay is Auto Pay. It also says there are deadlines after which charges rise, so check them on the page rather than relying on memory.

The exemption is tied to a booking

Read the wording closely. The wheelchair accessible exemption applies when you are entering the zone to carry out a booking. It is not a general pass for driving around the zone for other reasons. If you are unsure whether a particular trip counts, ask TfL before you rely on it.

Congestion Charge and ULEZ are separate

TfL's page says a vehicle that does not meet the ULEZ standards must also pay the ULEZ charge. Paying one does not cover the other. Our ULEZ guide explains the emissions standards the handbook gives for PHVs.

Questions to settle with your operator

The handbook says nothing on who bears the cost between driver and operator. That depends on your agreement. Before you accept zone bookings, ask:

• Does the operator pay the charge, or do I?
• If I pay, is it added to the fare, taken from my earnings or absorbed?
• If the fare was agreed before the journey, does the operator update it when the destination changes?
• Who is told when a vehicle's Congestion Charge account has a problem?

Write the answers down. Our record keeping guide shows a simple way to do that.

Count it in your costs

A daily charge can matter on a quiet day. If you regularly work in central London, put it in your sums. The cost per mile calculator and the break-even calculator both let you enter your own running costs. They use your numbers, not ours.

What this guide cannot tell you

We do not state the charge, the penalty for not paying or the payment deadline, because they change and are not in the handbook. We also cannot say whether your particular vehicle qualifies for a discount. Use TfL's vehicle checker and discount pages for that. For other charges and costs of getting licensed, see our fees overview.

Where this comes from

Handbook section 6 (Congestion Charging, including the footnote on designated vehicles). TfL Congestion Charge page and TfL Congestion Charge discounts and exemptions page, both read on 2 October 2026. Other pages in this series: driving and parking rules and PHV vs taxi rules.

Work out what the charges cost you with the Congestion Charge and ULEZ cost estimator.