Starting August 1 2007congestion charges applies in central Stockholm. If you plan to drive a car with non-Swedish license plates, you can safely forget all about them. We will let you congest our city to your heart's delight - and smile.
But if you plan to drive a car with Swedish license plates you had better read this right now, before you get into trouble.
Rented cars with Swedish plates
Most car rental companies will be adding the exact charges that you have incurred to your bill.Some add the maximum daily charge of SEK 60 to the rental cost.
The cost for each passing is just a small amount and varies with the time of day from SEK 10 and SEK 20 during rush hour. No charge between 6.30 pm and 6.30 am. Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and holiday eves are free of charge.
Other cars with Swedish plates.
If you plan to drive a car with Swedish plates, not from a rental company, things can get really complicated. There are no toll booths at all. Instead, 200 shops in Stockholm and another 200 throughout the rest of Sweden will have equipment to determine how much you should pay. But there is worse:
If you don't pay within 14 days, a reminder will be sent to you and a fee of SEK 70 will be added to your bill.
If you still don't pay within 30 days, you will be charged a penalty of SEK 200 . If you still don't pay, the tax authorities will turn their claim over to the The Swedish Enforcement Administration, which will add another SEK 500 minimum charge. The SEK 10 that you failed to pay have now turned into hefty SEK 770 . If the enforcers use a collection agency in your country, this cost is likely to double.
Betalstation = Pay Station. Except that you don't pay here at all. There are no toll booths. Instead, the cameras will scan your license plates front and back and register the car owner for the congestion charge. If you have foreign plates, they won't bother you. Congest away, as much as you want, and thanks for coming to our city!
Inside the dotted line is where congestion charges applies.e. all of central Stockholm. If you drive a car with Swedish license plates you need to memorize this map.
You can however travel through central Stockholm to Lidingö (upper right on the map) at no cost, provided that you pass two pay stations within 30 minutes. You can also travel for free on the Essinge highway (bottom left) bypassing central Stockholm.