A Charge For Change.... (Congestion Charge? (London))

Name: SticMan

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Product:	Congestion Charge? (London)
Date:	31/01/07 (2871 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reduced Traffic across London

Disadvantages: Affects the poorest the most.

Introduced in February 2003, the congestion charge introduced a fee for most motorist who entered central London during the working week. The fee was initially £5 which was then subsequently raised on in July 2005 to £8. The congestion charge only effects central parts of London, where traffic has come to a standstill over a number of years. Traffic problems were beginning to have drastic effects on the lives of drivers, productivity of business and ease of tourists. Though many were wary of the financial implications of the congestion charge, there is little doubt that many wanted some sort of solution to the traffic chaos from Mondays to Fridays.

London was the first major city in the world to adopt the congestion charge and its relative success means that it is likely to be copied elsewhere in the world. In particular Manchester were in an advanced stage of implementing the charge in their city centre. Organisers of the charge are TFL and the mayor Ken Livingstone was a major back of the scheme, its increase in price and increase in area from which the zone reaches. There has been much debate over the relative merits of the charge. Some felt it was just another stealth tax designed to make money. However the studies showed that traffic bottling was occurring en masse across the capital and all trends suggested that it would indeed get worse with time. When the charge was introduced traffic fell in a short space of time by close to 30%. After the initial fears where over and the results of the congestion charge were visible many grew to the idea and it was generally well accepted.

Overall it has made a necessary contribution to the flow of London. Before the charge there was wide scale problems on a daily basis, but the need to reduce the number of unneeded traffic saw was enough for most to accept the charge was required. With the economic welfare of the London growing, with increased jobs, and more visitors than at any time in it’s history there was always little doubt that sooner or later strains would be placed on its key infrastructures. Transport in major cities is always one of the biggest dilemma’s for any major city in the world. London still is one of the busiest in particular in the city. Much of the problems occur at fixed times during the day, i.e. start of the working day and the end. It was at this time where the build up of traffic would cause the most problems. It is almost inevitable that many would have been late to work on a daily basis, were overcharged for a taxi fair and suffered from increase stress because of the traffic problems. Shortly after the charge, traffic however seemed to creep back up and thus the need to raise prices further.

An argument many were making at the time, was that if the congestion charge was to price travellers off the roads, they would only find alternative methods of travelling across London and hence the congestion would simply be shifted elsewhere. Indeed many of those people chose to travel on the underground, which has seen increased passengers but yet very little improvement in service. Many drivers found the charge unfair and felt it discriminated the poor rather than the rich. Some experts argued that a non monetary form of taxation should implemented so that it would be fair for all visitors of London. Yet the general consensus was that there was little alternative to using a financial charge and that non of them would prove as effective.
There has been many criticisms of the congestion charge. Many people have gone on protest that they would not pay the charge at all, running up hundreds of pound of unpaid fines. The main economic effect has been to the many businesses which are enclosed inside the congestion zone. Of course with a reduction of car journeys in central London has also meant a reduction of consumers in many high street shops, particularly smaller ones. However it is probably more likely that the overall economic benefit to the capital outweighs the few problems faced by some shops.

The congestion zone area is due to be increased in the near future with much of west London to be included in the zone, again there has been a lot of scepticism amongst the residents and businesses in the area. It seems as though pay as you drive policies will spread throughout the U.K and perhaps to many other major cities. Economic prosperity has many benefits to the lives of millions across the world, however there are of course draw backs and with more and more people able to afford cars and more importantly owning more than one car it is inevitable this trend will lead to problems. Throughout the capital higher and higher private parking charges are being used as space is a vital commodity.

Personally, I think that Congestion Charge is the only viable solution for London's traffic problem for the foreseeable future. London is one of the major cities of the world and financial centre as well as one of the most visited cities in the world. For it to remain so, the previous traffic problems needed a major rethink. One the whole it has been accepted and generally had the desired effect. Ken Livingstone can see this as one of his most successful policies and the fact that it is set to be copied elsewhere in the world reflects its success. So although it might be not universally popular, Congestion Charge is effective and is here to stay.

Summary: Controversial but the only effective method to control traffic in London.