The central London congestion charge has got off to a good start with traffic running remarkably smoothly.
The combination of school holidays and mayor Ken Livingstone’s warning that Monday would be “a bloody day” persuaded a third of drivers to keep their vehicles out of the zone. Nearly 80,000 people paid the £5 charge.
Livingstone accepted it was too soon to gauge the long-term impact. Tory candidate for mayor, Stephen Norris reserved judgement on the scheme which he claims will descend into “administrative chaos”.
The provision of extra buses meant Tube managers reported no significant increase in passengers, although some stations suffered with crowding, such as King’s Cross and London Bridge. Livingstone said he would know by July if he would widen the zone.
Other cities in Britain are adopting a wait-and-see approach before making any decisions to adopt their own schemes. Newspaper commentators who up until now had been warning of chaos have had to begrudgingly admit the initial impressions indicate success.
References: Financial Times 18/02/03 page 1, page 4, page 20 (Observer), page 46 (Markets – London), The Guardian 18/02/03 page 1-2, page 8-9, page 23 (Notebook), page 25 (Market forces), The Times 18/02/03 page
