Johnson drops £25 congestion charge

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Owners of so-called ‘gas guzzlers’ who like to drive into London got some good news from the Mayor of London Boris Johnson when (as promised in his election manifesto) he dropped plans for charging ‘large family cars’ £25 a day to enter the central London congestion charge zone.

This means there will be no increase in charge for drivers of Band G vehicles from October 2008. At the same time, the Band A and B discount, which Johnson said would have resulted in thousands of cars driving in the zone for free and adding to congestion, has been removed. The Mayor pointed out that Transport for London (TfL) will now not have to spend the £10m needed to set up the scheme.

The move follows a legal challenge by Porsche who will have their court costs paid by TfL. Porsche will give the money to Skidz, a charity that gives young people mechanical skills and training.

Johnson said: "My commitment to making the congestion charge fairer and more effective for Londoners is well known. And I am delighted that we have been able to scrap the £25 charge, which would have hit families and small businesses hardest. I believe the proposal would actually have made congestion worse by allowing thousands of small cars in for free."

Valerie Shawcross, Labour’s transport spokesperson on the London Assembly, didn't approve of Johnson's move.

"I’m extremely worried. These moves may be attractive and financially beneficial to a relatively small number of the most well off Londoners who can afford large vehicles and drive into London regularly. However the long term cost for everyone could prove dire. I want to know how the Mayor is actually proposing to help save the planet."

A Friends of the Earth spokesperson commented: "Boris Johnson is letting the biggest polluters off the hook instead of encouraging people to use cleaner cars. He should now reopen the consultation on gas guzzlers as he has done with the western extension of the congestion charge zone. The Mayor has committed himself to a 60 per cent reduction target in the capital’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2025. He must now put forward credible plans to tackle traffic across London and cut climate change emissions from transport."