Congestion charge expands - money saving for the rich
One side has been wailing and gnashing its teeth and the other is accusing anyone who dares disagree with them of being grossly irresponsible.
No, it’s not the nation’s footballers buffing up their reputations over the weekend, but two very vocal opposing sides of the argument about the extension of London’s Congestion Charge today.
(Readers outside the reach of the capital, please don’t click away now – this does concern you, I’ll explain how later.)
One faction that has been relatively quiet on the Congestion Charge front recently though are the wealthy residents of Chelsea, Kensington and Notting Hill, who now live within the zone.
In fact, ask a lot of these residents of London’s richest areas and you find that despite their initial distaste, the extended zone will actually do them a favour.
If you live in the zone you get a 90% discount on the £8 congestion charge. Buy a month’s worth of the charge and it’ll cost you just £16. That means the wealthy citizens of Chelsea, Kensington and Notting Hill can now drive around central London, at any time of any day of the week, for a bargain price.
Previously, despite the fact it made little difference to their deep pockets, most avoided driving into Central London, as they objected to paying £8 for the privilege. Now, many I have spoken to say there will now be no point not taking the car. Going to the hedge fund office in Mayfair - might as well drive; Bond Street for lunch and shopping – I’ll take the car; Meeting in the City – traffic might not be too bad at this time of day.
The people who it will really hurt though are small businesses. West London is one of the few places in the country still full of small shops and traders, as the rich residents’ cash helps support them. But these small traders – who don’t get the same discount as residents - find the Congestion Charge hits their delivery vans and their staff who have to drive for business reasons. And the pain is worse as big chain rivals can easier absorb similar issues.
This problem was raised when the original charge was introduced and nothing has really been done to help. And that's why the rest of the country should be concerned, because, despite any denials you hear, similar congestion charges are being plotted for the rest of Britain's cities.
Congestion will drop substantially at first as a result of the charge – it did in the original zone – but then it will rise again – in the original zone it is now estimated to be 8% lower than before. (As stated by the eco-friendly Guardian)
Unclogging our painfully congested streets is an admirable ambition, but freeing them up for the rich and hurting our already struggling small businesses doesn’t seem right.
- Simon Lambert, This is Money
Useful links:
How far do they plan to extend the congestion zone? Personally I dislike the whole idea.
Posted by: BJ | February 21, 2007 at 03:08 PM