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Driving in

Driving in Liverpool

Merseyside, England. What is different here rather than what is the same everywhere.
507,915
Population, Merseyside
Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025) (as of 30 June 2025)
No zone
Charging or low emission zone
Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025) (as of 30 June 2025)
L
Postcode areas
Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025) (as of 30 June 2025)

Checked on 30 June 2025.Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025) (as of 30 June 2025)

No charging zone here

Liverpool has no clean air zone, low emission zone or congestion charge. Nothing about the age or fuel of your car changes what it costs to drive into the city, and the only motoring charges that apply are the national ones.

Nearby crossing: Mersey Gateway charges.

What is different about driving in Liverpool?

Very little, in charging terms. Liverpool runs no zone, so the national rules are the whole story. What is local is the shape of the fleet and the charging network, which the figures below describe.

Local figures for Liverpool

  • 40.1% of Liverpool households had no car or van at the 2021 census, the highest share of any city on this site outside London.
  • There is no clean air zone in Liverpool. The nearest zone that charges private cars is Birmingham's, roughly 100 miles away.
  • About 170,000 licensed cars were recorded in the Liverpool council area at the end of March 2026.
  • Charger numbers grew fast, from 694 in January 2026 to 920 by 1 April 2026, or 180.8 per 100,000 residents.

The numbers behind those lines

Official statistics for Merseyside
MeasureFigure
Vehicle fleet40.1% of Liverpool households had no car or van at the 2021 census, the highest share of any city on this site outside London.
Public chargingThere is no clean air zone in Liverpool. The nearest zone that charges private cars is Birmingham's, roughly 100 miles away.
Car ownership40.1% of Liverpool households had no car or van at the 2021 census, the highest share of any city on this site outside London.

Common questions

Is there a clean air zone in Liverpool?
No. Liverpool has no charging or low emission zone, so no daily charge applies to driving there. The nearest zone, if any, is in a different authority area.
What does a car pay to drive in Liverpool?
Nothing. There is no zone charge in Liverpool. The only motoring charges that apply are the national ones: vehicle excise duty, fuel duty and any local parking scheme.
How many public chargers are there in Liverpool?
There is no clean air zone in Liverpool. The nearest zone that charges private cars is Birmingham's, roughly 100 miles away.
Are motoring rules different in England?
Vehicle tax, speeding penalties and licensing are set nationally, so they are the same everywhere in Great Britain. What varies locally is whether a charging zone applies and what it costs.

Sources

Related pages