London congestion charge may use flexible pricing

Monday, 16th March, 2009

An overhaul to the London congestion charge scheme will see motorists paying different rates to enter central London depending on the time of the day.

London Mayor, Boris Johnson is likely to make the cost of entering the congestion charging zone during peak hours higher than at other times of the day.

Under the current system, drivers pay a flat £8 charge between 7am and 6pm.

The London scheme is being taken over later this year by IBM, the company behind a so-called “intelligent” congestion system in Stockholm that has reduced traffic into the city by 25 per cent, twice as much as achieved in London, and reduced CO2 emissions by 15 per cent. Under the Swedish scheme motorists pay an average of only £2 a day.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “sophisticated road-user charging schemes such as the one in Stockholm are fairer and more efficient than the rather blunt system we have in London .”

What is road-user charging?

This charge is simply a method of charging the motorist for the use of the road. At present the use of the road network is free. A motorist driving an electric car pays no tax or charge for using the roads – no fuel tax because no petrol is used and no vehicle excise duty because electric vehicles are zero rated. But electric vehicles still use roads and roads are valuable. Indeed a motorist driving a standard family car pays around £900 a year not for using the roads but for having a vehicle and for using petrol – quite a different thing.

What would the motorist be paying for?

There are any number of aspects that a motorist could be charged for using a road: damage to the road surface (track charges); noise; speed of travel; producing noxious gases; producing climate change gases; and most importantly access or use of roads at busy times.

How would the motorist be charged?

There are many ways in which a motorist could be charged. Most people imagine a national British system would involve a satellite tracking process with drivers being sent a monthly statement of all their journeys. This is possible but not necessary. The charge in Stockholm is levied as a vehicle passes under a beacon in the road which reads the number plate. Drivers are sent a bill which must be paid within fourteen days.

In Britain we could use a system whereby the car, knowing where it was using its own global positioning device deducts an amount from an allocated mobile telephone.

This system is the cheapest to introduce and means neither the government nor other members of the household need know where the driver has travelled.

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What is the ETA?

The ETA provides motorists and cyclists with green breakdown cover and green insurance products and campaigns for sustainable transport – when you buy our services below you help fund our charitable work