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Congestion Charging

from Cathy (cathyvpreece@aol.com)

Lightened wallets, less traffic

Sarah Lyall/NYT

The New York Times

Tuesday, February 18, 2003

London survives first day of its commuter fee

LONDON

London's bold new program to control traffic by charging motorists to drive into the center of town started off smoothly Monday morning with no major public transportation breakdowns, no obvious technological glitches and no major outbreak of civil disobedience.

Traffic was far lighter than usual, but most of the decrease was due to the midterm school holiday that started Friday, officials said. They said it would be some time before they could gauge the success of the new plan, in which people are required to pay £5 (about $8) a day to drive into an 8-square-mile (21-square-kilometer) area in the center of town during business hours.

The program is being closely watched around traffic-clogged urban Britain, where other municipalities plan to go ahead with similar schemes if London's is deemed a success. Mayor Ken Livingstone, who has staked his political future on the outcome of the so-called congestion charges, said Monday that the plan had until Easter to prove itself.

"This is an historic day for London," said the mayor, who rides the subway to work and uses taxis - which are exempt from the charge - on government business. "Everyone knows that tough decisions have to be made to tackle the congestion which cripples this city of ours. From today something is being done." Members of the Green Party held a celebratory rally, complete with alcohol-free champagne, at a subway stop in Islington. But opponents protested in Kennington, which is being split in two by the congestion zone boundary, and at the Smithfield meat market, where workers have said that they will refuse to pay the fee. People using cars in the congestion zone between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on weekdays are liable for the fee, which can be paid via the Internet, over the telephone, through the mail or at a network of stores with special ticket machines. Scofflaws' license plates will be identified by 700 cameras set up on and around the congestion zone, and failure to pay by midnight on the day the trip is made will bring an escalating series of penalties, culminating in a £120 ticket and then clamping or towing.

It's classic Ken," said the Conservative leader, Iain Duncan Smith, speaking of Livingstone. "It's only going to hit the people on low incomes who can least afford it."

But Livingstone said he was confident that the plan would work. "We will spend much of the summer discussing where to extend the scheme to," he said.

(posted 7710 days ago)

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