Leaked documents have suggested that Mayor Sadiq Khan had planned to charge motorists up to £2 per mile to drive in London as part of an ambitious net zero initiative.
The flagship pay-per-mile road charging scheme was set to launch in September 2026 and would have dramatically increased the cost of road journeys from outer London into the centre of the capital, with charges nearly tripling in some cases.
The plans emerged after Sadiq Khan had reportedly already spent £150million of taxpayers' money on technology for pay-per-mile road pricing, according to The Telegraph.
Under the proposed scheme, a return journey from Upminster to Oxford Circus would have increased from £15 to approximately £40.
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Sadiq Khan planned to introduce a £2 per mile car tax scheme
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Drivers making a 30-mile return trip from Highgate to Fulham in a Ulez-compliant vehicle would have faced an additional £18 in charges, where previously they only paid for petrol.
The new charges would have included a £5 daily tax on top of the per-mile rate within the congestion charge zone.
Mr Khan ultimately abandoned the pay-per-mile charging plans following the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election in July 2023.
The Conservative victory in the by-election, which focused heavily on an anti-Ulez campaign, appears to have influenced the Mayor's decision.
Nine Labour-run London councils have previously expressed support for pay-per-mile or road user charging schemes.
Inside Transport for London, the scheme was reportedly codenamed Project Gladys, with its formal title being Next Generation Charging, and would see different rates across London's zones.
Those in inner London - the original Ultra Low Emission Zone - would have paid 60p per mile, while a lower rate of 40p per mile would have applied to the rest of Greater London.
The implementation roadmap included public consultations throughout 2024 and the replacement of London signage in 2025, although these proposals have since been dropped.
According to TfL's modelling, the scheme would have led to 600,000 fewer car trips in the capital and would have been offset by 170,000 additional bus journeys and 210,000 trips made on foot.
Sir John Armitt, chairman of the UK's National Infrastructure Commission, has previously voiced support for a pay-per-mile road pricing scheme, saying these measures were "inevitable".
Despite the previous plans, Sadiq Khan's current position is clear: pay-per-mile charging has been ruled out in London.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London stated: "Pay-per-mile charging has been ruled out by the Mayor and no such scheme is on the table."
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The potential changes were reportedly dropped after the Uxbridge by-election loss to an anti-Ulez campaigner
PASimilarly, an HM Treasury spokesperson previously told GB News: "We have no plans to introduce road pricing.
"We are committed to supporting our automotive sector as we transition to electric vehicles in order to meet our legally binding climate targets."
