The London Congestion Charge

Facts Traffic speed in central London had fallen more that 20% since the 1960s (14.2 mph to 10mph) I n 1998 drivers in inner London spent almost 30% of their time stationary at peak period and more than half their time traveling at speed of less than 10mph In 2002 the average travel time during the day was 8.6mph More than One million people entering central London daily between 7:00 and 10:00 am (1/4 of them by road) New car registration in United Kingdome doubled from 500,000 in 1958 to over a million in 1963

London Congestion Charge adopted in 2003 In 2003, London imposed a daily charge for driving or parking a vehicle on public roads in central London between 7:00 am and 6:30 pm Charges applied to private cars and commercial vehicles Individual living in the zone entitled to 90% discount Motorcycles, bicycles, buses, taxis registered in London, vehicles used by disabled individuals, medical staff and fire fighter vehicles are exempted from the charge Imposed a daily charge of £5.00 (£8.00 Later in July 2005)

Difficulties Associated With Congestion Charge While it is easy to identify charge for single road or bridge, it was harder for a net work of roads Charge vary by road and intersection and time of the day (enforcement is very difficult) Was not easy to define the charging area (location of the cordon) The cost of collecting tolls in an urban area was expected to be high ( what system to adopt) To charge a flat rate or different rates according to different scenarios

Benefits from imposing congestion charge Traffic congestion has declined substantially by 30% ( expected to be 34-38% with £8.0) Net benefit of £50 million/year (expected to be £ million) This money to improve public transportation

Payment Methods The charge may be paid in advance, on daily, weekly, or annual basis, or on the day of travel Driver can pay through retail outlets, kiosks, by telephone, over the Internet and by text massage using cell phones

Payment Methods…. Drivers submit their vehicle registration number when paying, and this number is then entered into a data base for trips within the charging zone Payments done late ( between10:00 pm and midnight) are subject to surcharge

Enforcement Video cameras are installed to capture images for cars traveling in the charging zone (automatic number plate recognition technology with accuracy of %)

Enforcement…. At the end of the day, the numbers captured are compared to the data base of paid and exempt vehicles If match is made, then data removed from the system, if no match is made then the numbers are send to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for follow up Penalty of £100 for unpaid congestion charge, reduced to £50 if paid within two weeks and increases to £100 if not paid after a month

Measured Impacts Prediction Reduce car miles by percent during the charging period, and reduce total vehicle miles traveled in the zone by percent (due to 20 percent less car trips) Increase average speed from 9.3 to 11.2 mph during the peak hrs (9.9 to 11.2 day average) Actual Reduction in Traffic and congestion The number of private cars, vans, and trucks coming to central London dropped 27 % ( Table 1 )

Table 1: Impact of the congestion charge on Traffic in the Congestion Charging Zone (in thousands of vehicle-kilometers and percent) Percent change Cars771 (47%)507 (35%)-34% Vans287 (18%)273 (19%)-5% Trucks73 (4%)68 (5%)-7% Taxis256 (16%)312 (21%)22% Buses54 (3%)65 (5%)21% Motorcycle129 (8%)137 (9%)6% Bicycle69 (4%)89 (6%)28% All vehicles1,640 (100%)1,451 (100%)-12%