On Monday, February 17th 2003 the london congestion charge came into affect. If you drive into a large area of central london between 07:00 and 18:30, Monday - Friday, you must pay a £5 'congestion charge'.

Payment of the congestion charge allows you to enter, drive around, and leave the charging zone as many times as you wish that day. At the moment, only central areas are affected and the charge is not too bad at £5 per day; parking in central london for an hour can cost you more than this.

You can pay the congestion charge at machines on the street, in most central london car parks and in some hotels. The machines take credit cards or cash. You can also pay on the day or in advance at the websitecclondon.com or, if you have registered, you can even pay via your mobile phone.

There are warning signs on major roads telling you that you are entering the congestion charge zone, and there is a large 'c' in a circle painted on the major roads too. You will also see the cameras, which take a photograph of you car including your number plate.

You must pay the london congestion charge by 22:00 on the day you enter the zone or the cost goes up to £10 ('to encourage early payment') if you pay by 24:00. Fail to pay by midnight, when a computer compares images of all of the vehicles that have been in the congestion charging zone against the registration numbers of vehicles which have paid their congestion charge for that day, and penalty charge notice for £100 will be issued. This is reduced to £50 for prompt payment within 14 days but increased to £150 if you fail to pay within 28 days.

The london congestion charge scheme has largely been seen as a success. It has eased the traffic burden of central london, where the average speed of car travel had dropped below 10 mph. In fact it's been such a success that there is talk of extending the london congestion charge zone and of introducing similar schemes elsewhere in the UK.