So What Happens Now?

Skipton01

Skipton01

Admin Team
For ages, it's seemed like the A2 (certain models at least) would become exempt from the London congestion charge from late October.

Now that Boris has beaten Ken, where does that leave the plans?

Is it a possibility that the CC as a whole will be dropped and if so, it's a distinct possibility that Manchester may become the only city in the UK with a charge - crazy!

I bet the Chelsea tractor brigade will be doing handbrake turns around Picadilly Circus soon.

Cheers,

Mike
 
The only firm commitment I can find on the Boris website is that he will not introduce the 25GBP charge. But he has also in the past spoken against the 0GBP charge for <120g/km cars on the grounds that it defeats the object of having a congestion charge. So I imagine that he will simply scrap the emissions-related scheme and leave everyone paying 8GBP per day. But we shall see.

Personally, speaking as an A2 lover and someone who often commutes to London by car, I think the emissions-related scheme was bonkers political posturing, at both the 0GBP and 25GBP ends of the scale.

Just off to do some drifting round that roundabout on Millbank now, in the CSL, to celebrate it being so affordable.

Cheers, Richard.
 
I regret to say that the proposed waiver is dead. I've been incredibly frustrated that whereas everyone knew that Boris would kill off the £25 SUV fee, his campaign and the Tory press supporting him was never so forthcoming about his corresponding plans to abolish the waiver proposals.

In the spirit of honest enquiry I contacted his website for clarification about this a couple of weeks back and received the following reply from Jason Devan of his Policy Team:

"Many thanks for your email. Boris has asked me to reply on his behalf.

"As you are aware, Boris opposes Ken Livingstone’s proposal to charge certain vehicles £25 a day, as he believes the congestion charge should be about tackling congestion. Boris feels that penalising an insignificant number of vehicles based on the personal prejudice of Ken Livingstone will not make a difference to emissions.

"Boris also feels that Londoners use their cars because of the appalling state of the transport system. A big car tax won't change that. Boris feels that we need better alternatives to get out of our cars - especially those who live in the outer boroughs with bigger families, many of which can't afford to swap cars.

"The TfL report recognised that the removal of the charge from Band A and B vehicles could lead to ‘an increase in the overall numbers of cars travelling within the zone’ and warned that ‘increased congestion would mean all vehicles moving more slowly and hence increased CO2 emissions’. Boris would scrap these plans from Ken Livingstone. As the candidate committed to tackling climate change in ways that are both fair and effective, Boris believe London needs an approach recognises that with the right encouragement Londoners will choose to do the right thing. If there is anything else you would like to bring to our attention, please do not hesitate to get back in contact with us. It is vital that we hear from Londoners about issues that matter to them."

If there's anyone here who voted for Boris I trust they will ponder these words.

Tim Ostler
 
To be honest, I think it's fair enough. At least it will keep the price of second-hand TDis reasonable!
 
I got no gripes - partly because I drive the A2 and a SUV and don't se why I should be penalised disproportionately when drivign one over the other.

The trouble is the green agenda is roling now with a whole lot of tosh powering it :(
 
cogarch said:
"Boris also feels that Londoners use their cars because of the appalling state of the transport system. A big car tax won't change that. Boris feels that we need better alternatives to get out of our cars - especially those who live in the outer boroughs with bigger families, many of which can't afford to swap cars.

"The TfL report recognised that the removal of the charge from Band A and B vehicles could lead to ‘an increase in the overall numbers of cars travelling within the zone’ and warned that ‘increased congestion would mean all vehicles moving more slowly and hence increased CO2 emissions’. Boris would scrap these plans from Ken Livingstone. As the candidate committed to tackling climate change in ways that are both fair and effective, Boris believe London needs an approach recognises that with the right encouragement Londoners will choose to do the right thing. If there is anything else you would like to bring to our attention, please do not hesitate to get back in contact with us. It is vital that we hear from Londoners about issues that matter to them."
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I voted for Boris, purely because I wanted to get Ken out! Having said that, Boris has always said the CC scheme will stay but not the £25 charge. What he responded is actually what I have been thinking.

Congestion and Global Warming are two different things. Marginally, a Smart is much shorter than a 4x4 and takes less road space but let's not go down that detail. Green house gas policy is not something local government should enforce, it should be a national policy, if not a world policy.

However, What Ken originally wanted is control over local air quality and pollution. That's fine, except CO2 emission itself doesn't pollute your local area. The emitted particles does, especially low tech engines and inefficiently filtered diesel cars.

What Boris said is bang on, if transport is better and safer (and cheaper), I would use it more often! At least I can drink a few pints when out!
 
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