BVRLA attacks Ken’s latest Congestion Charge proposals

Transport for London has published proposals to amend the current London Congestion Charge scheme. The proposals call for cars, including MPVs, that emit more than 225 g/km of CO2 to pay a daily charge of £25.00 (with no discount for residents in the zone), while all cars, and not just alternative fuelled or hybrid vehicles, that emit less than 120 g/km will be exempt. Cars that emit 120 – 225 g/km will continue to pay the current £8.00 daily charge with a 90% discount for residents. The new charges will see residents with higher emitting vehicles paying some £6,200 pa, up from just under £200 pa.

“It is difficult to see what the Mayor is playing at now,” says John Lewis, the BVRLA’s Director General. “The original purpose of the Congestion Charge scheme was, quite properly, to reduce congestion. That’s why it was called the Congestion Charge. Now that he’s attempting to move to a CO2 based scheme the goalposts have moved. At a time when congestion in Central London has crept back up and is showing only an 8% reduction on pre-Charge levels as opposed to 30% when it was introduced, Ken, as a canny politician, is shifting his ground.

“Is he now trying to further his anti-congestion scheme or is he trying to jump on the green bandwagon for political purpose?” Lewis continued. “Remember, there’s an election for Mayor, next year. Or in fact, is he trying to claw back revenues? And if he is wanting to reduce CO2 emissions then he should exempt rental cars from the Charge and thus make this form of car use yet more attractive. This is something we, as an organisation, have been urging since 2003 especially as the average rental car emits just 169 k/gm of CO2 against the average used car’s 182 g/km.

“The Mayor must have real problems on his revenues, especially since the zone was extended westward to mainly residential areas. Everyone who lives in the extended zone qualifies for a 90% discount at present and will doubtless be using their cars far more frequently for journeys into the old zone. So much for congestion reduction, then. How much more convenient to wrap the problem up in a green cloak and hammer the wealthy rather than the average voter. As I say, he’s a canny politician.

“And it may well be that he’s already made up his mind despite the fact that the consultation document didn’t go out until Friday, 10 August. Going on past experience with the original Congestion Charge, the Westward Extension and the London Low Emission Zone where all the major industry stakeholders criticised the proposals and despite fierce public opposition, he went ahead anyway. So there may be a degree of irony, if not fantasy, in the Transport for London statement that, ‘Mr Livingstone says he will keep an open mind on the proposals until he has considered the responses to the consultation.’

“But I have an idea for Ken. If he wants to show his green credentials and improve air quality in London, which I am sure he does, why not impose emission limits on buses and taxis? Many of these vehicles are old and anyone who has stood on a street corner in Central London will know just how appalling these vehicles can be in terms of smoke and pollutants. I am sure that many Londoners would thank him, and maybe even vote for him!”