RB5SCOTT

Autocar - Penalties keep congestion charge afloat

Maybe if everyone got their act together we could make the rip-off charge run at a loss. So no matter how much of a **** up the congestion charge is it still rakes in money

Brendan Hughes

"Meanwhile, TfL has had to admit that average rush hour speeds inside the charging zone are now worse than before the scheme was introduced in 2003. Four years ago, the average speed in the morning and evening was 9.9mph. This year, TfL’s own figures show it to be just 9.3mph."

Ouch...

Jerome

The average speed before the scheme was launched had been deliberately made worse to make the CC scheme look good when it went live. So the average speed has got significantly worse.

RB5SCOTT

Having to have to drive into London nearly every day i can wholely say that its pathetic. If only the looneys would work with the problem and not against it!

Get rid of bus lanes, buses and taxes for a start and we could well be on the way to getting it moving

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

151 million a year in admin costs !!!!!!

that is unbelievable!

Seems someone has not done their sums right.

stilover

Just like everything else this Government does. Dome, Olympics, etc etc.

Still, what do they care. F*ck it all up today, put up taxes to pay for it all tomorrow.

GC8WRX

Im glad i dont live in the zone cos i would rather go to jail than pay to drive on roads ive already paid for with ten years of road tax!!!! its a disgrace and should be scrapped immediatley!!!!!
PAY AS YOU DRIVE IS A SCAM AND SHOULD BE STOPPED!!!!!!!!

borgie

know wonder people dont get to know about the area they drove, until its too late.
Is this the reason why. Makes you wonder what the government will do next to get some income.

The next scam they are trying is to charge 90% council tax on empty properties. And that is supposed to encourage the owner to carry out repairs to unhabitable homes. What an exuse to gain in revenue.

WRX300MAN

The congestion charge is tosh, and Kenb Livingston is a leftie w@nker!!

. . .Cheers!!

Chris L

Might be worth trying the Top Gear trick of registering your car as a mini cab! At least you could avoid the charge

Snazy

Would also need to consider H&R insurance too I believe, not sure if that only applies if you carry fares.

I do agree though, the zone does NOT work, so now there are also introducing the emissions zone too. More fines, more money.

Ken, time to go, before he gets his extension into Deptford, Blackheath, Woolwich and Charlton. He is a complete arsehole!
Bring on Boris

Clarebabes

Who cares? London has good public transport compared to the rest of the country, Londoners should use that instead of driving anyway.

bugeyeandy

Clare, you're missing the point. This scheme was brought in against the will of the population. Then due to it not making enough money the price was increase from £5 to £8 a day. Then again due to not making enough money it was extended to a wider area of london.
Now we're told it only breaks even because of the amount of fines they rake in. These fines are given out because they make it so difficult to find out if you've strayed into the zone.

If you think you've driven down one of the streets into the zone and phone tfl they cannot tell you if you have or not. You either pay the charge anyway or wait for the fine - what kind of madness is that?

This sort of scheme will spread country wide so if you like it fine, 'cause you'll no doubt be seeing it near you soon.

p.s. There's a consultaion paper out that will see the cost of driving an Impreza in the zone to £25 a day. Due to Red Kens hatred of 4x4 s he intends to charge high CO2 emitters £25 per day. F all to do with congestion

Clarebabes

OK Andy, I accept your point, but if everyone used public transport instead of driving, they wouldn't make any money and it would be branded a failure... Oops, this is Labour we're talking about, you just know they'd spin it!

GC8WRX

Public transport may be ok in london, but round here it is diabolicle, no buses after 7pm.
and now i find out if i want to go to the trafford centre to watch a film with the missus or do some shopping, there are plans to include the a34 into manchesters road charging!!!! WTF!!!!!! we

WE get taxed enough as it is, now they are taxing my free time!!!!! im not paying to drive to the cinema!!!!!!~!

GC8WRX

And all this high co2 bullsh1t is all spin
Charge foreign drivers of old artics with 8 litre, 10 cylinder diesels, and 4.6 hse range drivers for high co2, not a two litre impreza!!!!!

Clarebabes

So many businesses will fold due to these stupid charges. Look at Northampton town centre. £7 a day parking, no park and ride, shops are closing left, right and centre. If they put in a congestion charge - it's not even that congested! - then the remaining people who do not do their shopping in Milton Keynes, WILL be going to Milton Keynes. Stupid, narrowmindedness!

angrynorth

Oh well, at least you have a pretty £500m train station to look at. Should make up for it, no?

WRX_Dazza

there will be a load of disused running tracks with moss coming through and other athletic sights of beauty in the forthcoming period as well.

london is ****ed and i'm so glad i dont have to go there everyday anymore!!!

druddle

If the servers processing the reg plate numbers going in and out of the congestion charge zone fail and the application goes down, you would be shocked how long the recovery time is to get it back again. That means that in that time no ones reg gets processed.

bugeyeandy

I'm with you on that one, then I could pay the £8 and have the roads to myself