Drivers of electric cars look set to be charged less to park in west London under a new scheme proposed by the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. 

Banded pricing based on CO2 for residential parking permits in inner London boroughs is already commonplace, incentivising those living in the capital to switch to a low or zero emissions vehicle.

But under the new proposals, out-of-borough drivers of electric vehicles will be charged £2.50 per hour for pay-and-display parking, while cars compliant with the recently introduced Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) standards will also be granted a cut to the hourly cost of parking, from £5 per hour to £3.50 depending on the CO2 emissions of the vehicle. 

The council says that the new pricing structure could incentivise businesses to change their vehicles to fully electric ones, by creating savings for out-of-borough drivers who park in Hammersmith & Fulham with an electric car or van, while targeting ‘non-residents who use the borough as a cheap car park’. 

The borough introduced emissions-based charges for pay-and-display parking during the Covid-19 pandemic to discourage drivers of cars not registered to Hammersmith and Fulham parking in the borough and using public transport for onward journeys into central London. The current tariffs stand at £3 per hour for cars with CO2 emissions under 75g/km including fully electric vehicles, while those emitting more than that have to pay £5 per hour. Both tariffs come with £1 additional charge for diesel cars. 

The new bands would see the cost of cars under 75g/km and zero emission vehicles charged an hourly pay-and-display rate of £2.50. The most polluting cars - diesel vehicles emitting over 191g/km of CO2 - would have to pay £6 per hour, in line with the highest tariff the borough presently charges. 

Emissions-based pricing for pay-and-display parking is already in effect in other London boroughs, such as the City of London, Westminster and Lewisham. 

Emissions-based pricing for pay-and-display parking is already in effect in other London boroughs