London has that Sunday morning feeling as drivers desert the roads

From Waterloo to Hyde Park, Bank to Knightsbridge, central London became a city of eerie quiet yesterday as the world's biggest traffic management scheme began, its trademark "C" signs standing more for calm than congestion.

Predictions of rush-hour chaos on the zone's boundary, and jammed rat-runs as motorists sought alternative routes came to nothing.

Although the introduction of congestion charging had been timed to coincide with schools' half-term holiday, which normally reduces vehicle density by up to 20 per cent, levels of traffic were even lighter and the capital felt like an early Sunday morning.

Congestion charging – the first serious attempt at traffic control in Britain – began at 7am as the 800 cameras positioned around the zone went live. Although some motorists were said to have tried to reach their workplace early to avoid paying the £5 daily charge, they could only escape having to make payment if they returned home after 6.30pm when liability for the charge expired. Some heavier than usual traffic was reported in Vauxhall Bridge Road and the Blackwall Tunnel, suggesting drivers were taking alternative routes.

At the London Traffic Control Centre in east London, Ken Livingstone was on hand for the 7am start. The Mayor of London said if the scheme failed, he might have committed political suicide, adding: "I am just waiting for things to go wrong." But there were, he added, as many journalists as protesters out there.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative leader, was also waiting for things to go wrong. He met angry workers at Smithfield market with Steve Norris, the Tory candidate for mayor. About 200 of them set off on a noisy march through the City of London. Other protests were small: in Kennington Lane, south London, which marks part of the boundary of the zone, about 20 residents brandished banners reading: "Scrap The Ken-gestion Charge."

As the morning wore on it was clear that many motorists had stayed away from the charging zone, either through fear of chaos, school holidays or by changing their travel plans. There was only limited evidence of a switch to public transport.

London Underground, still hampered by the closure of the Central and Waterloo and City lines said it noticed "no significant difference" in passenger numbers during the rush hour. London's buses, increased by 350 to cope, reported normal working-day passenger levels.

Main commuter routes such as Cromwell Road, which channels M4 and A4 traffic from the west, were quiet.

Inside the zone, the emptiness of Whitehall and The Mall allowed tourists to step off the pavement without risking death, parking meters were plentiful and cab drivers had less to be grumpy about as they negotiated Piccadilly Circus in under a couple of minutes.

What traffic there was moved smoothly and buses, taxis and delivery vehicles outnumbered private cars by about four to one. Some cafés even took advantage of a sunny day by putting tables outside, perhaps hoping that customers would be tempted to enjoy a cappuccino without the usual light dusting of traffic fumes.

In Bloomsbury, residents in side streets and squares were reaping the benefits. Angela Dunn said: "I was still asleep when the rush hour started but when I woke up I found there were empty parking bays on the streets. I can't remember the last normal working day I noticed that."

Tony Morgan, 42, an electrician from Kent was working at Guy's Hospital near London Bridge. But despite having his journey time slightly cut, he said: "I have one word to describe congestion charging – crap. I am effectively paying £5 a day for driving an extra 100 yards. The charging zone only starts at the end of the road and I can't park anywhere else."

Claire McCausland, a nurse aged 29, was happy, largely because she had paid nothing, having travelled to work from her home in Maida Vale on her toll-free scooter. "From a purely personal point of view, it is a good thing. But many of my colleagues have to drive in because of difficult shift patterns and they suddenly find themselves with an extra £1,000 a year to pay. It's like another mortgage," she said.

At the South Bank University at Elephant and Castle, Chris Georgas, 27, an engineering student favourably compared the attitude of Londoners to his native Athens. Feeding his credit card into a pay point, he said: "I think Londoners are a bit more compliant – if they think the logic is good then they will pay more easily. That would not be the case in Athens but here I think people will see that it works – if it works – and pay up. It might not work anywhere else but that is the English."

In Park Lane, Stephen Lewis's H-reg Metro was one of the less expensive of the few vehicles around. Because he lives within the congestion zone boundary he must pay the reduced charge of 50p a day. "Us ordinary workers aren't going to be able to afford it," said Mr Lewis, 42. "It's all right for Ken Livingstone, he doesn't drive. He has a chauffeur. What I think of Ken Livingstone can't be put into words. I would like to shoot him."

Paul Wheeler, co-owner of the Wild Mushroom Company based at Borough Market, who was dropping off a delivery at the Pont de la Tour restaurant overlooking Tower Bridge, felt the charge was unfair.

He said: "We have four vans which have to make more than a hundred stops throughout London every day. I sent off a cheque for £400 last week just to last this month. A lot of small businesses will struggle to cope with that. We might be able to get across London more quickly but we will have to see a significant time saving each and every day to make it worthwhile – not just during half-term holidays."

Most people, including Ken Livingstone, accepted yesterday that the real test for the scheme will come in the days and weeks ahead, when motorists try to resume normal habits and the school term restarts. That's when London may become a city divided between the charging zone and the chaos zone.