Congestion Charging

Chaos fails to stall London as traffic scheme takes off

The Irish Examiner

18 Feb 2003

THE most ambitious traffic calming scheme in Britain crept in quietly yesterday with none of the transport chaos that had been feared.

While local residents and Conservative politicians demonstrated against the stg£5 (7.50) a day congestion charge in London, motorists appeared to be giving the centre of the capital a miss.

The Irish Government is also considering whether to introduce charges for Dublin to combat major traffic congestion.

An official said Transport Minister Seamus Brennan will consider the move, but has not made any decision yet.

However, it is unlikely levies would be introduced at a time when public transport services, such as the Luas, are not yet on-stream.

The launch of London Mayor Ken Livingstone's scheme coincided with the first day of the school half-term holidays and traffic in the London area was light.

Mr Livingstone marked the 7am start of the scheme with a visit to the London Traffic Control Centre.

The anxious mayor admitted: "I'm just waiting for something to go wrong."

But by late morning, scheme organisers Transport for London (TfL) and motoring organisations said there had been few problems, although they warned things could get worse in days to come.

Mr Livingstone said it was "absolutely crucial" the scheme worked.

But shadow minister for London Eric Pickles, who was among Tory MPs protesting yesterday, said congestion charging was "an unfair tax".

The AA warned a lack of traffic in central London although welcome for anti-congestion campaigners could signal trouble for the capital's economy.

Only the British city of Durham has a similar charging scheme and the British government and local authorities are waiting to see how the London plan works out.

As the scheme started, protesters braved the cold to demonstrate against its introduction.

Those living on or near roads bordering the congestion area were particularly vociferous.

Speaking in Kennington, south London, driver Stuart Cutts said his fruit and vegetable delivery business was going to have to close because of the charge.

Kennington resident Doreen Coombes, 68, complained that she would have to pay extra every time she wanted a builder, locksmith or plumber.

At Smithfield meat market in central London, Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and the Conservative's London mayoral candidate Steve Norris spoke to workers protesting against the charge before 200 demonstrators set off on a march through the city.

Mr Pickles joined protesters at Tower Bridge Road.

He said the tax would "cut communities in two" and would not tackle the real problems of London's infrastructure.

The scheme, which operates from 7am to 6.30pm each weekday, aims to cut congestion by 10%-15% and raise £130 million (194 million) annually for public transport projects.

Mr Livingstone said: "I would expect for us to see the benefits by Easter and to know whether or not it will work."

TfL congestion charging director Michele Dix said the scheme had "a good start".

By 8am, motorists were making payments at newsagents and stores at the rate of one every three seconds.

By midday, 8,000 payments in 600 stores throughout the country had been made.

Motorists paid for their charge as far north as Halifax in West Yorkshire, as far east as Fakenham in Norfolk, as far south as Gosport in Hampshire and as far west as Tavistock in Devon.

London Underground said it noticed "no significant difference" in passenger numbers during the morning rush hour as a result of the congestion charge.

There were "no substantial changes worth noting", a spokeswoman said.

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