Driving in Stockholm is about to get more expensive

Anyone who wants to drive into the inner city of Stockholm or the so-called Essingeleden part of the E4/E20 motorway thoroughfare through the city currently has to pay a toll fee.

This fee will be increased from the start of the next year, and will also apply to more days than it currently does, said the Swedish Transport Administration and the Transport Agency in a joint statement on Thursday.

The charges will apply from 6am to 6.30pm on weekdays after the turn of the year. That's an earlier start by half an hour compared to today, a move intended to ease rush-hour congestion in the mornings.

There are currently no fees during the month of July, but the changes include charging drivers on the five first weekdays of July.

They also propose charges on certain days just before a public holiday. These include the days before Good Friday, Ascension Day and All Saints' Day, as well as April 30th and the day before the National Day of Sweden if they coincide with a weekday.

A camera registering cars driving in and out of Stockholm. Photo: Tomas Oneborg/SvD/TT

The year will also be divided into peak season, which would be March 1st to the day before Midsummer's Eve and August 15th-November 30th, and low season – the rest of the time.

The exact cost depends on when you travel and how many times a day you pass the toll stations, but during peak season drivers will be charged a daily maximum of 135 kronor ($14).

During low season, the maximum daily charge will be 105 kronor.

Stockholm's congestion charges were introduced in 2007 as an attempt to reduce traffic and pollution in the capital city, and the revenue was to be used for road improvement.

Cameras register the licence plates of cars that pass the toll stations, and send an invoice to the owner.

If you get sent an invoice, it is important to pay it before the deadline stated on the invoice, otherwise you risk being slapped with an additional late-payment fee of 500 kronor. 

You can read more about the new changes (in Swedish) here.