Press Release

£25 Congestion charge proposals - LONDON FIRST RESPONSE

18 December 2007

In response to the Mayor’s proposals to charge Band G vehicles £25 to enter the Congestion charge zone, and the poll results announced this morning by the Mayor, a spokesman from London First said:

“Congestion charging is supposed to reduce vehicle congestion in central London. While the £25 charge for gas-guzzlers won’t please everyone, we’re pleased that, for now, the Mayor has dropped the daft part of his plan to link congestion charging and emissions – that of exempting Band A and B cars, which would have resulted in hundreds of Corsas, Puntos and Fiestas choking up London’s streets.”

Background:

• While the Congestion Charge has been effective in reducing the number of vehicles entering the central zone, more needs to be done to tackle congestion
• By letting Fiestas, Puntos and Polos back into Central London for free, as planned in the Emissions-Related Congestion Charge, the Mayor will encourage more cars back into central London. In addition, the effect of Band A and B vehicles re-entering the congestion zone will worsen over time as more motorists switch to environmentally-friendly cars.
• London First is pushing for a reduction in the congestion charge rather than full exemption to be offered to low CO2-emitting vehicles
• Local road pricing schemes must be accelerated to target traffic jam hotspots across the capital