Congestion charge to rise from 22nd June., Threads merged Options

[Korting]

Just when London's economy needs to recover from the devastating effects of Corona virus.

Just when Government says 'Don't use public transport'

What does Khan do: He increases the congestion charge by 30% to £15 and increase the operational times to 7 days a week till 10pm each evening.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-lond...ailout-11988726

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[BaggieBoy]

The backlash on this will be huge, I expect some backtracking in the coming days.

[stamfordman]

The CC is back live on Monday too. ULEZ too.

The CC rise and operational times are temporary measures though - they may not be permanent.

Personally I support this - we've seen the benefits of less traffic and it's great.

[Jlc]

How else does he expect to pay for everything other than asking for bailouts?

Politics at play here of course.

[Umtwebby]

Why? It appears from the polls that well over half of Londoners will vote for him. Why should he backtrack?

London gets what it votes for.

[Korting]

It will affect theatres, West End cinemas, restaurants and stores' weekend trade.

Not a good move and once introduced 'temporarily' will almost become permanent.

[Slapdash]

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-england-london-52677059

[oldstoat]

Dont use public transport. We need the money. Dont use public transport, stay safe. We need the money Use your own vehicle, we need the money. The charge needs abolishing immediately and for ever

[cymromon]

I live in Wales, and thought our administration was bonkers (it is)
but London's, wow.

From closing tube stations before the lockdown creating a sardine tin, to this, pushing yet more in a space, I guess he's confident herd immunity has been achieved in London?

[Steve_999]

. . . . . . I guess he's confident herd immunity has been achieved in London?

More a case, I suspect, that the size of the herd is rather diminished!

[speedfighter23]

Sadiq Khan hates cars. He is just using COVID as an excuse to make things worse for cars. Oh well I guess I'll just avoid the Congestion Charge Zone Completely, I am not paying 15 GBP for the pleasure of driving in it! Actually, the funny thing is most Londoners are car hating rich left wingers, so that's why they voted for Sadiq Khan in the first place!

This post has been edited by speedfighter23: Fri, 15 May 2020 - 21:07

[Incandescent]

Oh well, I suppose when all the central London shops, pubs, theatres and offices are all permanantly closed and boarded up somebody may have a rethink. London traffic has always been bad, that's why the Underground was built. And maybe somebody could tell me why electric cars are exempt from the Congestion Charge, as they take up roadspace the same as any other vehicle.

This post has been edited by Incandescent: Sat, 16 May 2020 - 08:31

[Fredd]

Actually, the funny thing is most Londoners are car hating rich left wingers, so that's why they voted for Sadiq Khan in the first place!

A funny real thing is that most Londoners demonstrably don't hate cars (the place is clogged with them), and aren't rich (knock yourself out with some actual data).

[stamfordman]

Actually, the funny thing is most Londoners are car hating rich left wingers, so that's why they voted for Sadiq Khan in the first place!

A funny real thing is that most Londoners demonstrably don't hate cars (the place is clogged with them), and aren't rich (knock yourself out with some actual data).

Although car ownership is far less in the inner city boroughs and also cars are less likely to be owned by poorer households. This is why reducing pollution, noise and accidents from through traffic from more affluent areas is important.

[Korting]

So how do those who hate cars expect to get good delivered and maintenance carried out?

I would just charge both congestion charge and ULEZ charge onto the customer.

[ProfessorX]

I am a resident in Westminster and I worked in Soho last year. There is 0 point driving into london these days for anything, public transport is the best way. Driving in this madness at peak time takes 3 times longer. The streets are full of ubers, buses, vans going round...

I guess what im trying to say is, if commoners dont pay congestion, someone will...

At the new current rates, it costs £25 plus fuel to drive in london if your car pays both ULEZ and CC.

[Korting]

I try and avoid driving into Central London even in the evening, but my job entails carrying heavy bulky items and spare parts. I doubt if TFL would be happy with me carrying such things on public transport.

So now I wont be able to carry out my work even in the evening unless of course I charge extra to the customer.

There needs to be some sort of protest against Khan’s tax grab

[Fredd]

So now I wont be able to carry out my work even in the evening unless of course I charge extra to the customer.

That's the way business works - if your costs increase then if you can you charge more customers more to maintain your margins, if you can't make an acceptable margin then you don't take that work. London's a lot more expensive to operate in many other ways, I don't see much reason to treat this particular cost as uniquely damaging.

[speedfighter23]

Actually, the funny thing is most Londoners are car hating rich left wingers, so that's why they voted for Sadiq Khan in the first place!

A funny real thing is that most Londoners demonstrably don't hate cars (the place is clogged with them), and aren't rich (knock yourself out with some actual data).

The congestion charge zone is some of the richest real estate in the world! And London is known to be labour voters who hate cars and love the environment. Very few people I know in central London drive, they are all about Ubers and tube and cycle.

You vote for Sadiq Khan, you get Sadiq Khan. So Londoners deserve a rise in congestion charge, I drive a lot in teh congestion cahrge zone so this definately affects me, but i've given up hope for the world after COVID 19.

[Spandex]

And London is known to be labour voters who hate cars and love the environment. Very few people I know in central London drive, they are all about Ubers and tube and cycle.

Fortunately, reality is never going to be as polarised as your view of it.

People in London don't (as far as I ever saw, living there for over 15 years) hate cars. They just often don't have any reason to own one - or at least the reasons for owning one come up so infrequently it's just not worth the expense of having a car sat outside losing money for those odd occasions. London is almost unique in the country with regard to the extent and integration of its public transport infrastructure, meaning that most Londoners would rather jump on a bus or the tube than drive. Not because they hate cars, but because the convenience of public transport makes it the most sensible choice.

But some people can't cope with nuance. They see people not owning cars and have to shout "Lefty car hater!!". Hang on a second... Does this apply to every vehicle someone doesn't own? Does someone have to hate everything they don't have a use for? That must be exhausting. Actually, do you own a British WW1 biplane? Because if not, I have strong opinions about you and your lack of patriotism.

This post has been edited by Spandex: Mon, 18 May 2020 - 09:50