Be Aware: Driving in Central London Will Cost you £8 Per Day. Or More.

Transporting around London usually involves utilizing the tube, bus or taxi at some point in the journey. A hefty price haunts any consumer who chooses to avoid public transportation by opting for a personal car.

Currently, any driver in Central London must pay a “congestion fee” which amounts to £8 (about $12) per day, Monday through Friday. Late payments incur steep penalties. A yearly pass costs £1696 (about $2544).

Although London's seven million residents are urged by the government to utilize public transportation to conserve energy and prevent congestion, there are many people who opt to travel by car.

Those who choose to drive are urged to find ways to minimize commuter congestion, which they can do by driving tiny Smart cars (like in the image above). The Smart electric car, which was introduced in London on June 29th, is the perfect city car - you can park it almost anywhere and it has zero-emissions.

But despite being smaller than traditional cars, Smart car drivers still pay the same congestion fee.

- Text and image by Lisa Aprile.