Mayor approves congestion charge
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Your support makes all the difference.Ken Livingstone took the biggest gamble of his political career yesterday when he confirmed that he would introduce Britain's first-ever congestion charge to London next year.
The scheme, which will charge motorists £5 a day to enter the centre of the capital, is projected to cut traffic by up to 15 per cent and raise £150m a year for public transport.
Transport for London said the plan would "go live" on 17 February 2003, although The Independent understands it is more likely to start on 21 April, during the Easter school holidays.
The Mayor of London signed the legal order approving the project after rejecting calls for a public inquiry or environmental assessment. The only potential obstacles are refusal of permission by the Department for Transport or a legal challenge by the Tory-run Westminster City Council.
Mr Livingstone admitted that the move may harm his chances of being re-elected in 2004, but wanted to proceed anyway. "For the first time there will be a serious attempt to tackle the chronic traffic congestion in central London," he said.
Under the scheme, anyone driving into central London between 7am and 6.30pm on a weekday will have to pay £5 for their registration number to be logged into a central computer database. A network of 230 CCTV cameras will scan the number plates of every vehicle crossing into the central zone and anyone who has not paid the charge will be fined £80.
The plan is expected to recoup its £200m set-up costs in 18 months. Future revenue would be spent on improving public transport. The cost to business of congestion is £2m a week.
Derek Turner, managing director of street management at Transport for London, said he expected the charge would force about 7,500 motorists off the roads. He said only 137,000 people used a car to get into London, while 850,000 used public transport. To cope, an extra 200 buses will be introduced. According to TfL projections, the increase in Tube use would be less than 2 per cent.
The plan received a mixed reaction, with the CBI, London First and transport campaigners praising it and the AA, small business groups and road freight industry attacking it.
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