The Mayor of London has announced a number of proposed changes to the Congestion Charge (a.k.a. tax). This tax was first introduced in 2002 when the charge to enter the central London zone was set at £5. It has subsequently been increased several times with the last change being to raise it to £15 and extend the hours to most of the day and to weekends.

That change was proposed to be a temporary measure to ensure that traffic did not increase during the pandemic as people avoided public transport but was also clearly intended to help with TfL’s budget problems.

It is now proposed to make the £15 charge permanent, but to reduce the charging hours during weekdays to 0700-1800 and weekend hours to 1200-1800.

Residents’ discounts will be reinstated but the previous discount for using Autopay is not reinstated.

You can see details of these changes with a link to the public consultation on this web page: https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/congestion-charge-changes . PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU RESPOND TO THE CONSULTATION

Comment: As is usual, the Mayor breaks a commitment that the increased charge was temporary so as to make more money. The pandemic is effectively over so there is no longer any justification for the increase. The reduction in hours may give some assistance to entertainment venues in the evening but that is a minor benefit to relatively few people in comparison with the number likely be affected by the increased tax.

The congestion charge has never proved to be effective in reducing traffic congestion and is a very expensive way of collecting more tax. Claims for its success are simply wrong.

The congestion tax should be removed!

See https://www.freedomfordrivers.org/congestion for more details on the history of this tax and the evidence for its failure to achieve its objectives.

Roger Lawson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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