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Congestion charge: 'a bloody shambles'
Page 6
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CM SPECIAL REPORT
London's much-talked about congestion charge came into force this Monday. Will it I work? And what problems
TE will hit hauliers? Jennifer
CHARGING
GOODS VEHICL=S Ball, Julian Milnes and
Emma Penny report.
• The run-up to the Introduction of congestion charging In London for fleets has been branded a "bloody shambles" by the Freight Transport Association.
The industry body says it was inundated with calls from angry hauliers who were desperate to register their fleets but were unable to get through on the phone lines, or received the wrong forms or inadequate information. It has also slammed Transport for London (WO for not warning it earlier about Its failure to set up direct debits for 800 operators, leaving them open to penalty notices.
Retailer John Lewis only found out last Thursday that none of its 600 vehicles had been registered. This was temporarily resolved on Friday, but the company says the situation is deeply unsatisfactory.
Purfleet-based Brocks Haulage wasn't able to register for the fleet scheme before Monday, so operations manager Anthony Brown was forced to pay over the phone for the 15 vehicles entering the zone. 'The journey was easier, but Ken Livingstone is clearly cheating by beginning in hair term, when the traffic Is always better. The truth will come out next week, when we have SO vehicles going into the zone. It is likely to be pandemonium." JAL: .1:1.2tv.
Sue Moody, FTA regional director for London says: 'TR must have known in advance about the problems. Telling hauliers only a few hours before charging began is disgraceful. It has no understanding of the problems that fleet HGESTION CHARGHIG MVO IT FOR YOU? operators face compared with one man and his car. We remain convinced that charging goods vehicles is daft. It cannot stop them from carrying — — out their essential work. It is a stealth tax and does nothing to reduce congestion."
Speaking on the first day of the charging (Monday), Moody told CM she acknowledged that roads in the congestion zone were clear. However, routes outside the charging zone, such as the Marylebone Road. were very busy, affecting deliveries. "It remains to be seen what problems will occur when the first penalty notices are sent out, given that 40 people received them before charging even began," she adds.
But Moody also says the government must look at the double whammy of congestion charging and the London Lorry Ban, coupled with local delivery curfews and bus-only lanes. This combination, says the FTA, allows only a two-hour restriction-free delivery window, and with congestion charging now in force, operators face costs of 11.2bn when delivering Into London (see panel). "The government needs to look at the lorry ban and when deliveries can be made inline with the charges," says Moody. The FTA says another solution is to encourage operators to deliver at night, or outside normal peak hours, by lifting restrictions during these times.