Congestion charge pre-pay system set for 2010
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CONGESTION CHARGE fines could soon be a thing of the past as Transport for London (TfL) considers plans to implement a payment account system.
Under the new proposals, drivers will be able to pre-register their bank details and vehicle registration numbers.
On entering the congestion zone, the £8 daily fee will be automatically deducted from a nominated bank account.
TfL believes the scheme could he up and running by "sometime in 2010" after computer giant IBM takes over the administrative role of the congestion charge zone from incumbent Capita.
The latest statistics from TfL show that more than 100,000 late payment fines are issued every month, and roughly nine million have been issued since the toll was introduced in London in February 2003.
The congestion charge costs 1130m to run and raises about £89m (£55m of that is fines) annually for development of the public transport system, according to TfL.
A statement from TfL says: "The introduction of payment accounts was taken into consideration in TfUs business planning process and, through modifications to the operation of the congestion charging scheme, TfL assumes no overall loss of revenue."