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London congestion launch: Best traffic in living memory?
Page 12
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London's congestion charging system went live last week, and with early reports hailing it a success, it looks set to be adopted by other local authorities. Jennifer Ball investigates.
CM SPECIAL REPORT le The first day of congestion charging in London was one of the best days in traffic flow we have had in living memory,'' Ken Livingstone claimed last Monday.
And the London Mayor says that, following a 25% reduction in traffic in the city during the first week of charging, it is inevitable that local authorities will look more
closely at introducing charging in their own areas.
Livingstone also says that he will now be looking to extend the zone to Kensington and Chelsea.
Durham was the first city to launch congestion charging last September (CM 22-29 Aug 2002): Nottingham is also gearing up to introduce a charging scheme, while Leeds,
Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Derbyshire and Milton Keynes councils have all drawn up plans for similar schemes in their local regions.
A Department of Transport spokeswoman says that a number of local authorities have expressed an Interest In congestion schemes and other road tolls: "We will begin trials in Leeds later this year of electronic equipment that can be used by local authorities in road tolls, and technology that can be used for distance-based truck charging," the spokeswoman says.
But Geoff Dossetter, director of external affairs at The Freight Transport Association, says that the Mayor may have been premature in his praise for the scheme: "Congestion charging undeniably got off to a good start, which was a sweet relief as we had feared that many operators may be unable to carry out deliveries. However, some people avoided the city this week because they feared such problems.
"The real test will be this week when those people drive back into London and the schools return from halfterm," Dossetter continues. "We are not opposed to the concept of road charging by local authorities to improve traffic levels. However, we are opposed to commercial vehicles being charged.
"They are a necessity and not a luxury; paying a toll will not force them off the roads.'' • London's congestion charging scheme could result in a radical rethink of the way we pay for road use across the UK, according to the Commission for Integrated Transport.
David Begg, chair of the commission, says that the government must stipulate a policy review and think constructively before traffic congestion gets a stranglehold on the whole economy.
He says that focusing motoring taxation on those who use the busiest roads at the busiest times could reduce congestion nationally by up to 44% without either raising extra money for the Chancellor or road users paying more in total.
"It would involve channelling motoring taxation away from VED and some of the fuel duty, with the shortfall made up by taxing the miles driven on the most congested roads.
"That means many people can get cheaper motoring while others will get shorter and more assured journey times."