London City to City of London: distance, time and the real cost of getting there.
- Road distance
- 7.3 miles
- Fixed private-hire fare
- £58.28
- DLR, per person
- £3.70
11.7 km by road, not straight-line.
All-in, up to 3 passengers. No meter, no surge.
29 min, 0 changes. DLR to Bank, then an estimated 7-minute walk into City of London.
Drive time by time of day
Four figures most transfer sites never publish — because they quote one number and hope. Traffic is real; here is what it does to this route.
| Overnight (22:00–06:00) | 27 min |
|---|---|
| Off-peak (10:00–16:00) | 34 min |
| Morning peak (07:00–10:00) | 50 min |
| Evening peak (16:00–19:00) | 53 min |
Even for a solo traveller with time to spare, the DLR at £3.70 undercuts the car — but the fixed £58.28 car carries up to 3 people and their luggage, door to door, with no changes.
- London City forecourt drop-off charge (£8.00)
Distances and drive times from road-network routing. Fares modelled from licensed-operator cost benchmarks and shown VAT-inclusive. DLR fare checked 2026-07-19. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) — road geometry via OSRM. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2024 (OGL v3); airport points © OurAirports (public domain); © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) · GeoNames (CC-BY 4.0) · Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: NaPTAN, Department for Transport.. Powered by TfL Open Data. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights.
Everything about the London City to City of London journey.
Your journey from London City to City of London
A private hire transfer from London City Airport to City of London covers 7.3 miles (11.7 km) by road and takes 27–53 minutes door to door, depending on the time of day and traffic. The drop covers the EC2V postcode district. Your fixed all-in fare is £58.28 for up to 3 passengers — agreed before you travel, with no meter, no surge and no change if the roads are busy.
At 7.3 miles by road this is a compact cross-town run,, and the fixed fare covers the whole of it whether the journey runs to 27 minutes or the full 53.
How long the City of London drive takes at different times
Traffic, not distance, decides how long the London City to City of London drive takes. Overnight, between 22:00 and 06:00, the roads are clear and the run takes about 27 minutes. Through the off-peak middle of the day it settles around 34 minutes. The morning peak from 07:00 to 10:00 is the busiest inbound window at roughly 50 minutes, and the evening peak from 16:00 to 19:00 runs about 53 minutes as central London empties out.
The gap between the best and worst case on this route is 26 minutes — an evening-peak run into City of London takes about 96% longer than the same drive overnight. Most of that variation lands on the A13, which carries the longest single stretch of this route at 3.0 km. Planning works the same way in reverse. Leaving City of London for a flight out of London City Airport during the morning peak means allowing the full 50 minutes plus check-in time, while an off-peak departure needs closer to 34 minutes and a quiet overnight start nearer 27.
What a City of London transfer costs
Every London City to City of London fare is fixed and all-in, quoted VAT-inclusive before you book. Economy seats up to 3 passengers with room for 2 bags at a fixed £58.28, Business seats up to 3 passengers with room for 2 bags at a fixed £71.11, First seats up to 3 passengers with room for 2 bags at a fixed £113.65 and Van seats up to 7 passengers with room for 7 bags at a fixed £81.02.
On the cheapest class that works out at about £7.99 per mile across the 7.3-mile route.
Travelling as a group changes the sum. The Van seats up to 7 passengers with 7 bags for a fixed £81.02 — about £11.57 a head when it is full, and usually less than 7 separate train or coach tickets once luggage and changes are counted.
Private car versus the train from London City to City of London
The main public-transport alternative from London City Airport to City of London is the DLR, at about £3.70 per adult single, taking around 29 minutes with no changes.
No party size flips this one: 3 adults travelling London City to City of London pay £11.10 in DLR tickets against a fixed £58.28 car fare, so the train stays cheaper even with the vehicle full — and the 29-minute rail journey is about 11 minutes quicker than the typical 40-minute drive, before luggage and interchanges. What the car buys here is the door, the boot, and one fare for everyone.
What's included in your fixed fare
Every London City to City of London journey is pre-booked and driven by a TfL-licensed chauffeur who meets you inside arrivals with a name board, tracks your flight so an early or delayed landing moves the pick-up automatically, and helps with your luggage. The fare covers the drive itself, the meet-and-greet, the free wait if your flight lands early or late, and the drop at your exact address — there is nothing further to settle with the driver on the day, a traffic-heavy crawl costs exactly the same as a clear overnight run, and the same fixed fare applies wherever in City of London you are headed. Fares are quoted VAT-inclusive and all-in, so there is never a separate airport, waiting or booking fee to settle on the day. Prices rise with the size and class of vehicle, never with demand or the time you travel: there is no meter running in traffic and no surge multiplier however busy the roads or the calendar, and everyone in the party arrives together at the same door on one fixed fare. Fixed pass-through costs such as London City forecourt drop-off charge (£8.00) are already folded into the quoted fare, not bolted on afterwards. On the London City to City of London route you can choose from 4 vehicle classes, from the Economy at £58.28 to the First at £113.65, so the fixed fare scales to the party and the occasion rather than to a meter. Because the booking is accepted by a licensed operator before you travel, it is a pre-booked private hire transfer end to end — never a hailed or ranked service.
Where we cover around City of London
We cover City of London and the surrounding EC2V postcode, picking up and dropping at the exact door you need. Journeys into City of London enter central London's Congestion Charge zone, but you never pay it separately — your fare is fixed and all-in.
City of London on the map
The London City to City of London drive runs mainly on A13 (3.0 km), A1261 (2.4 km) and A1020 (2.2 km), with the A13 carrying about 26% of the 11.7 km route — which is why the same journey can be quicker or slower than a similar distance across a different corridor. London City is the closest of the 6 London airports to City of London by road, 7.3 miles (11.7 km), ahead of Heathrow at 32.0 km. City of London sits within a short drive of Moorgate Station (0.4 km), London Cannon Street Station (0.5 km), Barbican Station (0.5 km) and City Thameslink Station (0.7 km), so the same fixed fare covers pick-ups either side of the area boundary.
- Route
- London City → City of London
- Distance
- 7.3 mi · 11.7 km
- Typical drive time
- 27–53 min
- Postcodes covered
- EC2V
- Congestion Charge
- Included in your fixed fare
- Main roads
- A13 3.0 km · A1261 2.4 km · A1020 2.2 km
- Airport proximity
- London City is #1 of 6 by road
- Nearby areas
- Moorgate Station 0.4 km · London Cannon Street Station 0.5 km · Barbican Station 0.5 km · City Thameslink Station 0.7 km
- Fixed fare from
- £58.28
From the London City forecourt to a City of London doorstep.
Your driver meets you inside arrivals, tracks your flight so the pick-up moves with it, and takes the fastest clear route into City of London. One fixed fare, agreed before you travel.
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Good to know.
How far is City of London from London City Airport?+
How much is a minicab from London City Airport to City of London?+
Is a private car cheaper than the train from London City Airport to City of London?+
Do you meet me at London City?+
Is there a Congestion Charge from London City Airport to City of London?+
Which City of London postcodes do you cover?+
Can you carry a group from London City Airport to City of London?+
Hotels in City of London
Staying over near City of London? Compare hotels and rooms in the area — boutique stays through to the familiar chains — on Booking.com.
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