Company motorists switched onto Congestion Charge zone expansion

The extension to the London Congestion Charge zone on 19 February 2007 has gone off relatively trouble free with company car and van drivers better informed about how the system works according to Lex.

When evaluating the number of Congestion Charge fines it received the month before launch date of 19 February and the two months after it has seen only a small rise in penalties.

Fines rose from 927 (19 Jan-19 Feb 2007) to 982 between 19 March-19 April, an increase of just under 6.5%.

According to Lex Managing Director Jon Walden, the main reason for it going off relatively trouble free can be attributed to a number of issues.

“Since the Congestion Charge was introduced in 2003, the administration linked to processing driver fines has taken a while to settle down. However, with this zone extension drivers seem better informed on how the Congestion Charge works and that they are responsible for their own fee,” he explained.

“Company car drivers seem to have digested this latest extension to the zone. The reduction in the charge period from 6.30pm to 6pm seems to have made a difference. Drivers returning home after a hard day on company business would often stray into the zone between 6pm and 6.30pm forgetting it was still live. The half hour reduction has helped overcome this issue,” said Walden.

Lex was receiving up to 2,000 fines each month in 2004, but slowly this has reduced to its current levels below 1,000.