Ken Livingstone has forecast that plans for a national road-charging system will be accelerated following the initial success of the central London toll.
The London mayor said the government would see national charging was the “logical next step”.
He vowed to bring forward work on extending the capital’s charging zone to include Kensington and Chelsea.
Figures from Isotrak show freight traffic in central London moved at an average speed of 4.5 miles an hour despite the successful introduction of the congestion charge.
Traffic was faster in the central zone and slower in the rest of London compared with recent weeks and speeds were noticeably slower than in the same half-term holiday last year.
Transport for London (TfL) said Monday saw a 25% fall in general traffic. Levels rose slightly yesterday, although lower than expected.
Ten thousand drivers are liable for £80 fines for not paying the charge on Monday.
However, the success at deterring drivers has meant the scheme faces a shortfall of up to £100,000 a day and the £200m start-up costs might not be recouped until two years later than planned, in 2006, according to one report.
This would have implications for investment in public transport.
But another report says when £500,000 of fines are taken into account, the scheme will collect twice as much as expected from its first day of operation.
Meanwhile, the Advertising Standards Authority, has upheld a complaint against TfL for claiming that “all the cash” from the charge would go to improving transport which was not true.
References: Financial Times 19/02/03 page 3, The Guardian 19/02/03 page 3, The Times 19/02/03 page 1, page 4, page 20, The Daily Telegraph 19/02/03 page 7, The Independent 19/02/03 page 9
