What did the congestion charge plans outline?
In July 2001, Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London released his transport strategy for London. In this he introduced the concept of the congestion charge. The plans do state that the charge will not be fully responsible for all the changes; instead they will coincide with a better transport system all round to solve the problems in the transport system.
The transport strategy [1] announced that the congestion charge would:
- It would reduce congestion, not only within, but beyond the charging zone.
- It would be effective in reducing through traffic than other measures.
- It would take advantage of the extensive public transport serving central London.
- It would improve bus operations.
- It would produce substantial net revenues.
- It would benefit business efficiency.
- It would integrate well with other initiatives.
- It would make central London a more pleasant location.
- It would be relatively quick to introduce.
These are the measures that the Mayor of London felt would be improved with the introduction of a congestion charging scheme. Therefore it could be simple to say that if these improvements were made then it is a definite success. Unfortunately it isn’t that simple. There are many other things that must be taken into account with the charge. Better air quality and emissions reduction are further aims of the charge’s introduction. There are also retail issues and of course road safety issues which have both been affected by the introduction of the charge.
Every year Transport for London issue reports on the congestion charge and help see whether these issues are improving. However you cannot base whether something is a success just from figures provided by a group who run the initiative.
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References:
[1]: The Mayor's Transport Strategy
Chapter 4: Improving London's Transport System
4G - Streets for All: Improving London's Roads and Streets
4G.80 page 25
http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/transport/pdf/final_ch04g.pdf
