Hauliers face London toll
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• Hauliers might have to pay as much as £15 a day to deliver goods into the centre of London, if Ken Livingstone becomes the capital's Mayor next May, The MP for Brent East unveiled his plans at an Institute of Logistics and Transport conference last week on road use charging.
If elected, Livingstone has confirmed that he would introduce a £5 fee for car drivers—in line with proposals by London First, a campaign body which represents more than SOO London businesses.
He would not confirm precise costs for CVs but is expected to follow London First's suggestion to charge 110 a day for "mediumsized" trucks and £15 for HOVs. The scheme would be introduced in August 2001 and Livingstone estimates that car use would drop by 15-19%. It would also generate a revenue of about £250m, which would be ploughed straight back into London's transport system. Initially the scheme would be likely to be paper-based, "moving to an electronic system within about a year".
The area designated for road charges would stretch from north of the River Thames to Euston and from Park Lane to the City. "This is not about stopping everyone from coming into the city, it's about making everyone's life easier," says Livingstone.
Commenting on the issue of city centre road charging, chief executive of Lynx Express David Burtenshaw says: "It's another way of imposing taxes through the back door. Our costs will be passed onto our customers but ultimately it will be the consumer who pays."
• Former RHA directorgeneral Steven Norris has rejoined the race to become Tory candidate for London Mayor following the disgrace of Jeffrey Archer, who was the Tories' first choice.