Small businesses are the beating heart of London’s economy - and many of them want to be part of a cleaner, greener future. That’s why the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Clean Cities are speaking with one voice: we must extend and improve the Congestion Charge Cleaner Vehicle Discount.
We welcome the Mayor’s consultation on extending the discount. It rightly rewards those making the switch to electric. But right now, it doesn’t go far enough. Unless the policy is strengthened, it risks setting back progress on electrification - and damaging the very businesses trying to do the right thing.
Small firms face massive financial and operational hurdles. Most still depend on diesel vans - which pump out substantial amounts of Nitrogen Dioxide. While TfL’s £122 million van scrappage scheme was hugely welcomed, only 1.7% of recipients made the leap to electric. That tells you everything about the scale of the challenge. Londoners get this too - recent polling shows most residents (67%) believe that small businesses need more support to transition to electric vehicles.
Under the current proposals, small businesses and charities that have switched to electric face a new £9 daily charge. That’s more than £3,000 a year, per vehicle. It’s not just counterproductive - it’s a penalty for going green. Worse, some small business owners have already told us they are switching back to diesel.
We’re urging the Mayor to continue the full 100% discount for electric vans, quadricycles and trucks operated by small businesses and charities, which make up less than two per cent of central London traffic during weekday charging hours. These organisations are the engines of innovation, resilience, and low-carbon growth. Supporting them is not just good climate policy - it’s smart economics.
Let’s clean up our air, protect our high streets, and make London a global leader in fair, sustainable transport. But we won’t get there by making the right choices for SMEs and charities even more expensive.
Laura Timm is London Regional Chair, FSB
Oliver Lord, is UK Head of Clean Cities
