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Sadiq Khan opposes congestion charge zone extension

22 October 2020

The Evening Standard reported on Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s opposition to an extension on the congestion charge zone in central London.

The article, published on October 17 2020, reported that conditions of further Government Covid-19 recovery assistance for Transport for London (TfL) could include an expansion of the £15-a-day zone from central London to the suburbs, the loss of free travel for teenagers and a further increase in Tube and bus fares on top of one already planned for the New Year.

According to the Evening Standard, a source close to Mr Khan said, “Negotiations are ongoing to do a deal to keep TfL services running. Conditions such as extending a £15 congestion charge to the North and South Circular and taking free travel away from children and older people would be totally unacceptable to the mayor and he would not ask Londoners to accept them in these exceptionally difficult times.”

TfL’s finance committee held an emergency meeting on October 17 2020. TfL is said to be seeking £2bn for the remainder of the current financial year and £2.9billion for 2021/22 to keep services running.

TfL received £1.6bn from the UK government in May 2020, under the following conditions: The C-charge was to be increased from £11.50 to £15 and to apply until 10pm at night and at the weekends. The Mayor of London agreed to increase bus and Tube fares by more than the rate of inflation from January 2021.

The Evening Standard said that there are several issues with these government conditions. The first being a lack of cameras to monitor and enforce the expanded congestion charge zone. The other would be the residents’ discount scheme for those living inside of the congestion charge zone inside of central London, which is already closed to new applications as a condition of the first government aid package for TfL, would need to be removed entirely. Otherwise, says the Evening Standard, enlarging the congestion charge zone could encourage more people to drive from the suburbs into central London while paying only a fraction of the charge each day.

We at Marshall Leasing know that fleet professionals in London and the South East are always interested in the impact of congestion zones on their colleagues. If you’d like to get the best out of your fleet, please contact the team at Marshall Leasing who will be delighted to assist.  You can get in touch on 01480 414541 or feel free to fill out our contact form.

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