Transport for London (TfL) yesterday announced that the standard daily congestion charge will increase from £10 to £11.50 per day.
The announcement follows a March 2014 report published by traffic analysts Inrix which ranked London as the second most congested city in Europe. Ten of the most congested roads in the country are within what Inrix define as the London commuter zone, according to the report (1).
Darren Johnson AM commented:
“The increase in the standard daily charge from £10 to £11.50 is inadequate. Merely keeping the congestion charge aligned with inflation and comparable to the cost of other transport modes is not going to reduce unnecessary driving in London.”
“TfL should take more radical measures such as road pricing to help ensure the predicted growth in vehicle traffic is prevented.”
“The congestion charge also needs to reflect the serious impact of transport emissions on human health and the cost to the NHS of treating the illnesses and diseases caused by pollution. Increasing the daily charge to £20 would be a start.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The Inrix report can be accessed here: http://www.inrix.com/pressrelease.asp?ID=107
- Darren questioned the Mayor of London on TfL’s projections for the growth or decline in traffic across London by 2018 at the February 2013 Mayor’s Question Time meeting: /mqt/public/question.do?id=45555
- Darren questioned the Mayor of London on the reasons for the decline in vehicle KMs driven in London between 2000 and 2011 at the July 2013 Mayor’s Question Time meeting: /mqt/public/question.do?id=47436
- Darren commissioned EcoLogica to produce the report ‘Pay as you go: managing traffic impacts in a world-class city’ in December 2011 to inform his scrutiny of the Mayor's Transport Strategy and budget: /sites/default/files/archives/Pay%2520As%2520You%2520Go%2520road%2520pricing%2520report%2520-%2520commissioned%2520on%2520behalf%2520of%2520Darren%2520Johnson%2520AM%2520-%2520PDF.pdf
- Darren responded to TfL's consultation on changes to the congestion charge: /sites/default/files/Proposed%20changes%20to%20congestion%20charge%20-%20Response%20to%20consultation.pdf