TfL considering extra charges for SUV drivers travelling in London
SUV owners could soon face charges for driving in the capital after Transport for London (TfL) unveiled several proposals it hopes will reduce deaths on the roads.
In a report published on Friday, the capital’s transport authority said it also planned to increase the number of 20mph zones and reduce speed limits from 50mph to 40mph.
This comes as part of TfL’s aim to tackle and ultimately eliminate deaths and injuries on the roads over the next five years.
The new measures include “further developing a robust evidence base on the risk posed by oversized cars and using our powers to address safety, congestion and environmental impacts”.
“Large-sized models, such as large SUVs, make it difficult for drivers to see people walking and cycling nearby,” the report added.
The report said SUVs were 14 per cent more likely to kill people walking and cycling in the UK than other passenger vehicles, and were 77 per cent more likely to kill children up to the age of 18.
Provisional data shows the number of deaths on London’s roads falling from 110 in 2024 to 95 in 2025.
The changes build on London’s Vision Zero Action Plan, which has an ambitious target to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads by 2041.
According to the report, around 262 deaths have been prevented on London’s roads since 2015 due to road safety changes.
Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said: “I am proud that we are taking significant steps to deliver Vision Zero, saving lives and making our roads safer faster than the rest of the country and equivalent international capitals including New York and Paris.
“But every death or serious injury on our roads is unacceptable and we need to go further and faster to eliminate this heartbreak in the capital.”
The report also outlined plans to expand London’s CCTV network by adding at least 20 new areas and opening 1,000 new zebra or signalised pedestrian crossings by 2031.
TfL also wants to encourage more children and young people to walk and cycle to school by providing 200 more school streets by 2030.
He also plans to impose a 20 mph limit on county roads, saying “evidence shows that 20 mph limits save lives: county-led 20 mph plans resulted in 40 percent fewer deaths and 34 percent fewer people being killed or seriously injured.”
Lilli Matson, TfL’s head of safety, health and environment, said: “London has made real progress in reducing road hazards – lives have been saved across the city thanks to our action.
“However, we cannot accept that it is inevitable that someone traveling in the capital will lose their life.”
In October Cardiff Council became the first council in the UK to increase parking permit fees for SUVs.
