Hackney proposes London as pay-per-mile road charging pilot as mayor rules it out

Hackney Council has proposed London as a pilot area for pay-per-mile road charging. The Green-led borough council says in its newly published Transport Strategy for 2026 to 2036 that the government intends to introduce a national road user charge for electric vehicle owners in 2028, and that Hackney “will continue to engage in the debate over road user charging and will consider lobbying for the introduction of systems of smart road pricing such as pay-per-mile in London as a pilot scheme or on a national basis.”

Electric vehicle tax from 2028 affects more than 490,000 London vehicles

The new Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED), announced in last year's Budget by then Chancellor Rachel Reeves, takes effect in April 2028 and will apply to 2.3 million fully electric vehicles and more than 2.7 million hybrids across the UK, including more than 190,000 electric vehicles and more than 300,000 hybrids in London.

Mayor opposed, Conservatives critical

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said he has no plans for City Hall to introduce pay-per-mile, saying: “As long as I am Mayor, we are not going to have pay-per-mile.” Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden also criticised the proposal. Hackney first asked the mayor in 2023 to make the borough a pilot area for road user charging. Sources: Brit Brief, 10 November 2026; the Evening Standard, via ianVisits.