Congestion Charging

[DaveEllen]

Cuddley Kens masterpiece is nearly with us........

Any thoughts ???

[Monster-Mat]

its terrible.....however,if done right it could be a good thing.........but it will all be screwed up...so its *****

[DaveEllen]

The technology is being done by Capita who are crap.......when it was anounced that they had the contract last year their share price dropped !!!!!!!!

They are messing the traffic light timing up all around London at the moment to make the flow look better when DDay comes.

[Bazza-old]

people will not give up their cars, for a dirty slow bus or train

that dont go where they want ,they will just have to line a few more goverment pockets and pay up

do they honestly think people are just driving into london for fun!

any one not wanting to pay the charge will just skirt around the area thus making surrounding areas more congested ,so the next step will to widen the area

untill which point?

[DaveEllen]

M25 ??

[Brian Berry]

Well I have just returned to work for 2 days a week having retired in 2000. I am amazed that in so short a time the number of cars appears to have increased during the peak periods including school times. I use the Winchester Park and Ride and for £1.50 all in I consider it good value. The problems with a number of cities is cars attempting to pass through from one side to the other. As there is no other way round the city having a tax to enter a certain zone would be unfair. I consider we all pay enough tax already and it is encouraging to see that Park and Ride is well subscribed.

[javadude]

If everyone that used fog lights when conditions are clear or drove while using a mobile phone had their car impounded and crushed then there'd be less cars on the road, and so less congestion for us lexus drivers.... :)

[Matthew_McNally]

If everyone that used fog lights when conditions are clear or drove while using a mobile phone had their car impounded and crushed then there'd be less cars on the road

now THATS what I call a plan.

:D :D :D :D

[Bazza-old]

If everyone that used fog lights when conditions are clear or drove while using a mobile phone had their car impounded and crushed then there'd be less cars on the road, and so less congestion for us lexus drivers

what about if it was a lexus driver ?

just impound and crush every bmw , much simpler

[UltraViolet]

Woohoo - should put up the value of my Insight - exempt from congestion charges..... :P

[Claire G]

How exactly are they going to reinforce the congestion charges? I heard on the radio that you can buy a voucher from shops etc at any stage of your journey in/around London.

What's to stop people, if they get stopped, saying 'er, sorry, just one my way to buy a voucher' ...??

[GCHQAgent]

*comes out of his cryogenic chamber*

[Note: this may well turn into a rant... if it does feel free to stop reading]

When I first heard of the idea almost a year ago I didn't like it and right now I am feeling neutral and while I still don't like the idea I am willing to see how it goes.

Firstly, we (taxpayers) paid to have the roads built. Then local councils decided to assert their right to our roads by charging people to park on them. Now, the Mayor of London is asserting his authority on our roads by charging people to use them. I think Ken forgot much like the government often does that they don't own roads and other infrastructure built and paid for by the public, they are merely trustees of that infrastructure. In my opinion the government as trustees are mismanaging a lot of things but that's an entirely different and political issue.

Anyway, let us take the argument that all 'profits' from congestion charging will be reinvested into improving transport in London. Now that's a good thing, anything to improve transport would be a welcome move. Where exactly will that money be spent in a few years time when the Tube becomes part privatised - will they make a reduction in the £5 charge? I doubt it. So all the money would then be spent on buses. The reason I don't get on buses is because I don't want to be stabbed or otherwise attacked at least while in a car I can lock my doors. I shouldn't have to sit near a seat that's been urinated on and smells. I don't like groups of young thugs giving me piercing looks. I certainly will not use a bus given all of my concerns for which I haven't heard Ken address any of.

In 3 years time there will be a large pot of cash from this congestion charging and they won't know where to put it... that's when we can expect silly 'initiatives' being rolled out and idiotic projects a la The Dome cropping up. Oh and it seems Ken didn't quite realise something else... if everyone who commutes into London by car decided to take the tube or use a bus then the current system would not be able to cope - so we are paying a £5 congestion charge designed to encourage us to use public transport but if we all decided to use public transport we wouldn't be able to... hmm... I feel a pseudo-scam here.

If Ken seriously wants to reduce congestion in London he has to realise that its a problem increasing nationally and is a particular problem in the South East therefore he must work with the government to come up with a solution.

I want to see public services improving before I'm forced to pay increasing taxes to use my vehicle. I want to see a plan for where the money will go, how it will be used, who will have a say in how its spent (don't we live in a democracy or am I dreaming?).

After speaking to a friend who lives in Germany some suggestions for the government to reduce traffic on our roads might be as follows:

1. Charge foreign lorrys for using our roads and limit the amount of foreign lorrys within the UK at any given time. In Germany foreign lorrys will have to apply for a license in order to drive through the country which will cost several thousands of Euros and will be paid yearly. Also there will be a cap on the number of lorrys in the country at a particular time and when that ceiling number has been reached lorrys looking to enter will be blocked at the border and will have to wait until other lorrys have left. This may seem drastic but the fact is big foreign vehicles are destroying roads which we (in the UK) paid for. Other EU countries are doing similar things, Switzerland and Germany for example.

2. Actively encouraging schemes such as car sharing or have days where car users are offered reduced prices on public transport.

3. Demonstrate that public transport is effective. People don't like to use cars going into London, the driving is far from enjoyable. I use a car because public transport is not up to scratch.

4. Do more to prevent strikes (and I don't mean ban strikes by unions). If they were paid half decent salaries in the first place they wouldn't be complaining.

5. A more stringent driving test. A theory test was a good introduction, the new reaction timing test is also good but face it - some people are not meant to drive and they still slip through the net. People complain I'm prejudice against poor drivers (my definition of poor can be found if you watch Britains Worst Drivers on Channel 5) and its true and I feel I have every right to be. Take for example this scenario: some people can't fly commercial aircraft and even if they cry after failing a test they've prepared for for a long time its just tough - they're not allowed to be pilots because they're deemed a danger. In the same way, if someone cannot drive then they should be kept off the road because they are a danger. It is not everyones right to drive. Driving instructors should focus on helping people to be good drivers instead of helping them to pass their next (possible 4th or 5th) test.

*remembers this is a car club and not a forum for this*...

*stops*

For more information on it have a look at http://www.cclondon.com

[Monster-Mat]

hear hear!!

[Claire G]

I salute you Sah !

Another startling initiative...how's about spending road tax on the roads

[tdiplc]

Anyone notice the unusually enormous amount of roadworks in London over the last few months?

Anyone think that they will all miraculously dissappear in Feb next year when the congestion charge rolls out?

Is Ken our Lord and Saviour or an idiot to think we can't see whats going on?

Will he get another term in office - doubtful methinks

[DaveEllen]

Ken has also changed the timing of traffic lights in central london to make it worse now...........

Lambeth council have put signs up by vauxhall cross saying the problems there (roadworks) are Kens idea !!!!!!!

Can't wait to vote and boot him out !!

[dark_is200]

I'm looking forward to the congestion charging so the traffic lights will go back to normal timing and the roadworks will disappear. Driving in Central London is terrible at the moment because of all of the traffic.

[DaveEllen]

If i've ever got to go into central london a train & tube it ...........My firms HQ is in ammersmith......to drive there from here (nr Woolwich) would take at least 2 hours congestion charging or not !

Anyone seen thos devices that you put on your number plate that mean they can only be read horizontally !! bet there will be a few sold :) ????????

[Brian Berry]

Some days you can't win. Last Thursday at 8am it took I hour 45 mins to drive on A and B class roads from Southampton to Winchester , a distance of 12 miles. The two motorways M3 and M27 had accidents on each.The trains were running 80 minutes late owing to a body on the line at Basingstoke. Perhaps it would have been better to have stayed in bed!

[sholao]

Let's boot Ken OUT!

[JOHNNY-BOY]

Looks like BMW are not happy with the congestion charging either:

BMW UK's managing director has branded London mayor Ken Livingstone's congestion charging scheme "barmy", adding it could cost bigger businesses almost three quarters of a million pounds a year.

Speaking at BMW's annual press dinner in London, Jim O'Donnell was forthright in his views about the problem companies face because of congestion charging. He said: "I know some will agree with the principle that anything will do to restore some form of order to London's congested streets. I, however, cannot and do not see this barmy scheme through such rose-tinted spectacles.

"It will cost our Park Lane dealer £70,000 in 2003. For larger central London businesses, this figure might be 10 times higher. It will prove to be another chunk of red tape, another backdoor tax and another burden on business, quite apart from the regressive effect on nurses at Westminster hospital and other low-paid workers in our capital."

He joked that The Beatles penned the song 'Taxman' in 1966, with the line "If you drive a car I'll tax the streets", and that "37 years later Ken Livingstone is about to turn fantasy into reality."

[brn7y]

Sorry to seem ignorant, but what is the scheme and where will it be happening, is it only London?